Come What May
by Hime
Summary: Crossover w/Rurouni Kenshin. Kenshin and the rest have been reborn in the 21st century and Kenshin's modern incarnation has just found the reincarnated soul of Kamiya Kaoru. The problem is that in this lifetime, Kaoru goes by the name of Tsukino Usagi.
1. Chapter 1

Come What May--A Sailor Moon/Rurouni Kenshin teaser

Set one year after Sailor Moon Sailor Stars. Usagi and the Inner Senshi are 17 year olds and Mamoru is 23 years old.

By: Hime

* * *

"Some love lasts a lifetime. True love lasts forever."

-Unknown

* * *

"Ne, Rei-chan, what do you remember of your past life?" The question rang out into the quiet afternoon air. Surprised at this sudden question, the Shinto priestess turned with wide eyes toward her friend. Usagi placed the manga she been reading onto her lap and once more asked her question to the dark-haired girl.

Rei looked into Usagi's blue eyes, surprised to find them looking so serene. "Why do you want to know?"

"I'm just curious, I guess." Usagi shrugged but her eyes never left Rei's.

"Well I don't remember too much. When I try to remember, it comes out a bit hazy. I…I remember the time that Beryl attacked the Moon Kingdom and how we Inner Senshi fought against her. I remember-"

"Not memories about that lifetime! Memories about the one after that and before this one!"

"What are you talking about, Baka-Usagi! We've only lived twice!"

Usagi stared at Rei blankly before looking down at her lap.

Silence. Curious now, Rei asked, "Why did you ask if I remembered any previous lifetime?"

Usagi looked up with a small smile on her face that didn't quite reach her eyes. "Oh, just some strange dreams I've having. Probably been reading too much manga, ne?"

"Dreams are serious things. They connect us to our past and our future. If you have anymore strange dreams, let me know." Rei commanded gently. "At the very least, talking about them might help."

"Un. I will. Arigatou."

"Baka Usagi! You don't have to thank me, we're friends!"

Usagi smiled, a true smile this time. "Hai Rei-chan." She glanced at the watch on her tiny wrist. "Oh, I'm supposed to be home now! Mama wanted me to do some errands for her." Usagi rushed up and tossed Rei's manga onto the table. "Ja ne, Rei-chan!" Usagi cried out behind her as she ran out the door and out into the shrine's courtyard. Rei stood up also, but made her way to the door much slower then her friend. She waved to the running blonde and absently smirked when Usagi seemed to trip down the stairs.

"Baka Usagi." She said once more under breath before going into her room once more.

* * *

As soon as Usagi was out of sight from the Hikawa Shrine, she slowed her mad rush to a more sedate pace.

'Rei-chan doesn't remember another life then that of the Moon Kingdom,' Usagi began to think to herself, 'but I'm starting to remember another life before this one.'

Usagi wasn't a thinker; she relied more on her heart to lead her through life. But this time her mind was the one telling her what to do. 'Don't act suspicious. Don't let anyone else know about your dreams. If Rei-chan asks about them, lie to her.'

No one should know that Usagi had been dreaming that she had lived before in Japan, in a time of revolution and change. How in her past life she was a kenjutsu master of the 'Sword that Protects Life'. That she had many weird and wonderful friends. That she had so many adventure and so many happy memories.

But most of all, she didn't want anyone to know that in this past life she had loved another man.

* * *

Author's Notes: So what the hell is this? This is a teaser just like what it says above. I was thinking about my two favorite anime's, Sailor Moon and Rurouni Kenshin when this idea for a story popped into my head. I just had to get it out before I forgot about it. The thing is that while I have a sketchy idea about where this story is going, I'm not planning on writing it anytime soon. I still have to finish up my other fanfic, **_Children of the Night_**, before I even start thinking about writing another one. Once I'm done with **CotN**, I might start on this one once more, if there are enough people who want me to continue and whether or not I have the rest of the plot set out. I do have other ideas floating inside my head, so if people don't speak up, I might start writing something else entirely. If someone right now wants to use this idea, feel free to do so but could you please email me when you post your story, as I would love to read it. Hope you readers enjoyed what little I did write…

Hime

10/21/01


	2. Chapter 2

Come What May--A Sailor Moon/Rurouni Kenshin Crossover Fanfiction

DISCLAIMER: Characters do not belong to me; they belong to Takeuchi Naoko-sama and Nobuhiro Watsuki-sama (Aren't those two just wonderful).

I'm setting this story in the Sailor Moon anime continuity, one year after the Sailor Moon Sailor Stars Season. Usagi and the Inner Senshi are 17 year olds and Mamoru is 23 years old. There are references to events that happen in the Sailor Moon anime and I give notes on them at the end of the chapter if you are confused. For the Rurouni Kenshin part of the story, I am using the anime up till the "Kyoto arc" and then I switch to the manga for the "Revenge arc". Explanations of the RK events are also explained at the bottom. If you don't know much about Sailor Moon or Rurouni Kenshin, be prepared for some spoilage.

Chapter 2

By: Hime

* * *

"Some love lasts a lifetime. True love lasts forever."

-Unknown

* * *

Being an intern sucks.

When the Juuban Medical Hospital offered to let a number of promising Medical Students intern earlier then they originally were suppose too, Mamoru had jumped at the chance even though he wouldn't get paid, still had to go to his classes and would also have to work at his part-time job. He figured the internship would be a great experience for him and help him achieve his goal of becoming a doctor. But he never figured he would be so busy or that he wouldn't have any time to sleep, let alone to spend with his Usako. Mamoru sighed as he pulled off the top of his medical uniform and reached inside his locker for his shirt. He lot out a yelp as cool feminine hands touched his naked back.

"Fufufu, did I scare you, Mamoru-kun?"

Mamoru whirled in surprise, his shirt held in front of him like a shield as he stared at the girl in front of him. Hayashi Yanagi was another student intern at the hospital. She was good, dedicated to her work but she was also known to be a flirt, especially with guys that were committed to someone else.

"Ah, you just startled me, Hayashi-san."

"No, no, call me Yanagi-san. We work to well together to call each other by our last names."

Mamoru just gave her a quick smile and nodded his head before turning around from her to pull his shirt on.

Yanagi narrowed her eyes at his back. She watched as the muscles played along his back as he pulled his shirt over his head and almost sighed in appreciation. Yanagi had always been drawn to strong men, maybe because she was so strong herself. She had to be to have made it so far in medical school. Even in this 21st century, Japan still had its reservation of women in the professional fields. Yanagi watched as Mamoru started to untie the drawstring that held his uniform pants up. She waited with baited breath as his hands came to his waist when he sighed.

"Yanagi-san, could you please go away? I'm trying to change here."

"Ohohoho, I didn't know you were so shy." Mamoru could almost see fox-ears pop-up on her head. But after her last remark, she did what he asked and left the locker room. Mamoru hurriedly finished dressing and grabbed his stuff. Hopefully, Usagi was late and wouldn't be waiting for him long at the park.

* * *

"Usagi! Where are you going?" Minako asked accusingly.

Usagi cringed as all the Inner Senshi's heads turn toward her.

"Umm, Mamo-chan said he would have time to meet me in the park after working at the hospital."

Everyone's eyes turned to Rei to see her explode. Even Usagi paled, looking at her fiery friend. To everyone's surprise, Rei just smiled and said, "Okay Usagi, have fun."

Usagi was stunned but still managed to stutter out a quick "goodbye" before running out the door.

"What?" Rei asked defensively as the other girls continued to stare at her as if they couldn't understand what had just happened.

"You were nice to Usagi." Was all Minako could manage to say before once more staring at Rei.

"What's so shocking about me being nice to Usagi? I'm always nice to Usagi!" At more disbelieving stares, Rei said, "Stop looking at me!" Fire seemed to loom up from behind her.

"Calm down, calm down." Makoto said, trying to placate Rei. "She didn't mean to sound that way. She just meant that usually, you're a bit…a bit harsh to her, that's all. Not that you mean to be, that's just how you are." Makoto tried to smile, but it came out more as a grimace.

"Actually, Rei's been quite nice to Usagi. Ever since last year, in fact." Ami's voice spoke out suddenly. All the girls looked at her as she stared calmly back.

"Usagi has grown up." Rei shrugged at Ami's unasked question. "And I let her go today because she's hardly got to see Mamoru-san since he came back to her." After the battle with Galaxia, Mamoru went back to the Azabu Institute of Technology and then two months after began internship at the Juuban Hospital and has been working there ever since.

Ami nodded before saying, "Well enough talking, there's still a lot more studying to do to prepare for our college exams. We don't want to be 'ronins' now, ne?" She patted the stack of books in front of her lovingly. When no one moved, she glared from behind the lenses of her glasses.

"Scary." Minako shivered behind Makoto's form.

* * *

"You stupid Rooster Head! How dare you gamble our bus money like that? You suck at gambling!" Spiky hair adorned the head of the young boy yelling at his older companion. He looked about ten or eleven. Around him was another young boy, around the same age with a similar look to him, though he didn't have the same hair as the first boy.

"I don't suck you little brat! I'm just on a losing streak, that's all." The older guy said. He wore the normal clothing of a nineteen year old—old black jean, a plain white shirt, and a black leather jacket that had seen better times.

"If you're a loser all your life, does that count as a streak?"

"Why you little…" He's hand clenched into a fist. The younger boy didn't seem afraid. In fact, he swung back his foot and let it fly right into the man's shin. As the older guy went to pound the kicker, the other boy stepped into the middle.

"Guy's, stop it. Dad's not going to like us getting into trouble by brawling in public."

The other two made a face, but relaxed their aggressive stances. "Then how do we get home?"

"Walk you spoiled punk ass kid." A fist came down on the boy's spiky head.

"Owww!" The boy grabbed his head and bared his teeth. "That's not fair! You spent our bus money. You stupid Tori-atama!" And the two were off again, circling though their argument once more.

Usagi couldn't help but wonder if that's how she and Rei looked like when they argued. 'I hope not.' She thought to herself. She had been watching them for the past two minutes, their loud voices catching her attention for some reason. Looking at them, the three looked so familiar. Finally without thought she went up to the three.

"Um, excuse me." The three looked at her and Usagi could feel her cheeks turn a light pink. "I could hear you three arguing about bus fare. Here." Usagi held out her hand with a single bill.

"You're giving us you're money?" asked the boy who had stopped the fight earlier. "Oh, we couldn't take your money." But he was shoved aside as the spiky haired boy grabbed the cash from Usagi's hand and crowed in delight. Then the one who got pushed aside, whacked what had to be his brother across the head. "That was rude! Give her back her money!"

"She offered it to us and it would be rude not to accept." was the answer he got. The spiky boy quickly shoved the bill in his pocket.

"Thank you very much." The boy bowed. "We can pay you back if you like."

Usagi bent over until her face was level with the two boys. "No, no. It's okay. Just help out someone else if you see them in the same trouble." She gave them her happiest smile and didn't notice when the two stared straight into her eyes with a somewhat dazed expression.

The older boy snorted and at that harsh sound the boys looked away.

"Go wait for the bus." The older boy told the two. The two bowed shyly to Usagi before going off, the calmer one went without comment, and the other went with a sneer toward the "Rooster Head".

As Usagi watched the two boys walk off, the older boy studied her with some curiosity. Her hair was the most unusual feature of her. Made her look like a rabbit. He smirked at the thought. Then she turned to look straight at him and he knew why the twins had stared so. It was her eyes, those blue crystalline pools. If the eyes were the windows to the soul then her soul was beautiful and pure. Her eyes seemed so familiar, like eyes he had seen in some dream he had when he was younger. "Jou-chan?" The phrase slipped out from nowhere and he shook his head in slight confusion.

Usagi's cocked her head to the side. What had he just said?

Shaken, he offered a small smile to the girl and nodded his head in thanks. He wanted to get away from her before he did something stupid like ask her if they had meet before or something else along those lines. He ambled off, with pride in his stance. He knew she was watching him walk off and he wanted her to have something to remember.

'Why did I do that?' Usagi asked herself. She wasn't one to just give away her money, let alone to complete strangers. But they weren't exactly strangers were they? They seemed so familiar but she just couldn't place them. She continued to watch the older guy saunter up to the two boys. He was cute, not as cute as Mamo-chan, but there was no denying his good looks. But for the life of her, Usagi couldn't understand why anyone would want to wear the kanji "Aku" on their back. Usagi shrugged, 'No use thinking about them. It's not like I'm ever going to see them again.' She glanced down at her watch and gave out a cry. This detour was going to make her late. As she started her run toward the park, she thought to herself, 'Hopefully Mamo-chan will be late and won't be waiting for me long.'

* * *

Side Notes:

**ronin**: In Japan, students who fail to get into college are know as 'ronins'.

**Tori-atama**: "Rooster Head". Sanosuke's nickname in RK. He keeps it even in this lifetime.

**…wear the kanji "Aku" on their back**: In RK, Sanosuke always has the kanji for bad (Aku) on his back.

Author's Notes:

I'm such a liar. I said I wouldn't work on this fic until I finished Children of the Night, but I couldn't help myself. sigh I'm hopeless. Anyway, already four of the RK cast appeared in this chapter. You wanna know why I named Megumi, Hayashi Yanagi? Hayashi Yanagi translates into Willow Grove. In the past, doctors or anyone with this knowledge really, would boil willow tree bark into a tea. The tea was their version of aspirin as it could reduce fevers and help with aches and pain. Also, the healer character in "Flame of Recca" is named Yanagi so I thought it would be nice to acknowledge the link.

As for the three boys, you must know who two of them are at least. As for the other boy, see if you can figure who he's suppose to be. Also, I hope no one was confused by the relationship between the three of them. The two younger boys are fraternal twins. The older boy is not their brother, more like a family friend.

revised 4/23/2002


	3. Chapter 3

Come What May--A Sailor Moon/Rurouni Kenshin Crossover Fanfiction

DISCLAIMER: Characters do not belong to me; they belong to Takeuchi Naoko-sama and Nobuhiro Watsuki-sama (Aren't those two just wonderful).

I'm setting this story in the Sailor Moon anime continuity, one year after the Sailor Moon Sailor Stars Season. Usagi and the Inner Senshi are 17 year olds and Mamoru is 23 years old. There are references to events that happen in the Sailor Moon anime and I give notes on them at the end of the chapter if you are confused. For the Rurouni Kenshin part of the story, I am using the anime up till the "Kyoto arc" and then I switch to the manga for the "Revenge arc". Explanations of the RK events are also explained at the bottom. If you don't know much about Sailor Moon or Rurouni Kenshin, be prepared for some spoilage.

Chapter 3

By: Hime

* * *

"Some love lasts a lifetime. True love lasts forever."

-Unknown

* * *

She was remembering her past again. Usagi couldn't tell how she knew; she just did. She could feel the cool wooden floors of the dojo and feel the length of wood in her callused grip. From the coolness in the air, it was morning. She could hear people talking together but nothing they said came out clearly. It was as if she was hearing their voices off an old recording, their tinny voices coming in and out. When Usagi looked at the voices owners, their image was blurry and almost indistinguishable except for the flashes she saw of them when she looked out from the corner of her eyes. Black hair elegantly tossed behind a shoulder before being tucked behind an ear. A big, strong hand wrapped in white bandages that became dirty within a couple of hours. Brown determined eyes, a quick smile, and even quicker hands. The only one Usagi could see and hear clearly, was him. His soft red hair, tied back with twine. The innocent purple gaze that hid his guilt and torment; the maddening grin he wore that skillfully hid his pain. He was the one that she had lived for. And eventually, she was the one he lived for.

And as she mused, the scene changed. Usagi found herself in a dark grove with him, fireflies dancing around the edges of her sight. Usagi felt her stomach clench in pain. It was that memory again; the memory in which he left her. 'Left me.' Usagi watched out of eyes that were not hers, yet was. He stepped forward and embraced her, squeezing so tightly for one moment she couldn't catch her breath. Usagi could feel tears welling up and slipping down her face.

"Sessha wa rurouni desu."

"Sayonara."

* * *

"Ken…shin." Usagi moaned in her sleep, her tears soaking her pillow. Luna had never heard such pain in her charge's voice since that time the Dark Kingdom had kidnapped Mamoru-san. Then as suddenly as the crying had started, it stopped. Usagi quieted down and stopped her tossing, which was what had awoken Luna up in the first place.

'What was Usagi dreaming about?' Luna asked herself. 'And who or what is Kenshin.'

* * *

Usagi woke up with her face damp. Sticking her tongue out in disgust, she wiped her face with the sleeve of her pajama top. At first, she thought that she had been drooling, but then she remembered her dream last night and realized her pillow was wet with her tears. Usagi sat up thinking about it. 'When Kenshin left me—no, when Kenshin left her, Kaoru reacted the same way as I did when Mamo-chan was taken away from me by Kunzite.' Usagi hit herself on the top of her head. 'Baka! Of course she and I would act the same, we are the same person after all.'

A black form landed on the bed. "You're up. I was just about to wake you." Luna looked closely at Usagi.

"What?" Usagi grew nervous under her guardian's stare.

"Usagi." A pause. "Who's Ken—"

"Usagi! Breakfast!"

Usagi quickly jumped out of bed and was out the door before Luna could finish her question. 'Saved by food.' Usagi thought to herself. She made her way down the steps and sat herself at the dining room table.

"You're not dressed yet? Usagi…" her mother looked at her.

Usagi gave her a bright smile and said, "Well at least I'm up on time for once, ne?"

Her mother smiled at her. "Well I guess I should take what I can get. How many pancakes do you want?"

* * *

"Wow Usagi, you actually made it to school on time!"

"Hmph. Like you should talk Minako-chan!"

"Heehee, well you know what they say, 'Birds of a feather flock together.'" At everyone's stare, Minako cried out, "What did I say wrong this time?"

"Actually you said the saying correctly,' Makoto said as she shook her head slowly.

"Yes! I finally said a saying right!"

"But it doesn't make sense." Makoto finished.

"Hun?"

"What you said doesn't apply to the situation." Ami said with a soft smile.

"So even when I say the it right, I screw up?"

"I guess so."

"That blows!"

"Well at least you got that saying right!"

* * *

"Sigh. Its such a great afternoon and we have to go to Rei's for a study group session." Moped Minako.

"Well it is for our benefit." Ami said as she walked out of the classroom.

"I'm with Minako-chan! Let's ditch and go to the shopping district!" Makoto and Minako huddled together as if making secret plans. As Usagi closed in on the two, she could hear Minako whispering, "I can't use the funeral excuse anymore! My family will be entirely wiped out!" Usagi giggled.

"Actually Rei-chan had to cancel this afternoon's session. Didn't she call you guys last night? She said something about an emergency meeting of the cultural festival at her school." Rei, now a senior like the other inner Senshi, was head chairperson of the TA Private School annual cultural festival. "Rei said that this year's festival was going to be themed on how Japan is viewed through the media. You know, like movies, mangas, television, and music. We should go!"

"Have you noticed every time we go to some festival that Rei-chan helped to organize, there's trouble?" Minako asked conspiratorially.

"Hun?"

"She's talking about that time in 8th grade when Ail and Ann attacked during Rei-chan's singing debut." Ami said.

"And the time when the taiko drummer was attacked for her pure heart." Makoto interjected. "Now that you mention it…she does seem like bad luck, ne?"

"Don't let her hear you say that, Mako-chan. Then she'll really explode!" Minako giggled at the image in her head. "Anyway, now that we're free, let's go shopping!"

"Ah-hem." Everyone turned to look at Ami who wore a stern expression on her face. "Just because we can't study at Rei-chan's doesn't mean we can't study somewhere else."

"Oh come on Ami-chan! We've been studying everyday after school and even on Sunday! We deserve a little break." Minako wheedled. When Ami's expression didn't change, Minako changed her tactics. "Okay, then we'll study. But why not study at the Crown? They have booths and good lighting. And we could get something to eat there to fuel our brains."

"Wow, Minako-chan's pretty good." Makoto whispered into Usagi's ear. Usagi nodded in agreement. A few minutes later, the four were on their way to the café. "Ami-chan's incredibly smart, but Minako-chan's incredibly sly. Minako will make a great pop idol someday." Once more, Usagi nodded her head in agreement.

* * *

Of course they didn't study. Well at least not much. There was more talk about the latest pop band then there was about their Japanese Literature homework. But still, under Ami's tutelage, the four managed to complete most of their homework if not all.

"Yihehe!" Usagi trilled as she skipped out the coffee shop. "Mamo-chan should be finished with his lesson soon." Mamoru worked at a local dojo, teaching a small class on the basics of kendo. This job had several benefits for him. First, it was scheduled in the late afternoon so he could go to school during the day and intern at the hospital during the night. Second, it helped to keep him in shape, just in case of a new enemy. And third, he got a chance to take any other class taught there in the dojo for free. Not that he had much of a chance to attend any of the other classes, but when he did, he enjoyed himself.

Usagi made her way to the dojo and noticed a group of younger men and boys huddled together whispering, blocking the doors. Even at seventeen, Usagi was still short and had a hard time seeing over some of the gathering's heads. She started to jump up and down in an effort to see what had gotten them all so excited. As soon as she saw the scene inside the dojo, she began to jump up and down foe another reason entirely.

"Go Mamo-chan, go!" she cried out as loud as possible. At the sound of her voice, Mamoru lost his focus and looked for her in the crowd. His opponent seeing this used the moment to attack. Amour quickly shifted his attention back to his opponent and blocked the strike.

"Shut-up you stupid girl! Do you want Chiba-sensei to lose!"

Usagi stopped bouncing. That voice sounded way to familiar. She looked to her right and saw the spiky haired boy she had helped out the other day staring intently at the fight going on in front of him.

"You?!" Usagi said.

At her response, the boy looked up at her and with some surprise. "Ah, rabbit girl!" He blushed. "Sorry, I didn't know it was you."

"Rabbit girl?"

"For your hair style."

Usagi thought about it. The name was better then being called 'Odango'. "Actually, my name is Usagi." She said with a grin.

He grinned back at her. "You can call me Yaruki." At a loud cheer, the two looked back toward the match. It looked like Mamoru had won, judging by the crowd surrounding him. Immediately, someone else challenged him again. His eyes sought out Usagi's and she nodded her okay.

"So you're Chiba-sensei's girlfriend?"

"Un." said with a satisfied nod.

"Well I figured you couldn't be here for the class." He shrugged and propped his bokken on his right shoulder. He wanted to make sure she would see it so she would know that he was a kendo student just like her boyfriend. That would surely impress her just like it impressed that new girl, Shizuka-chan, at school.

"Why couldn't I be here for a lesson?" Usagi asked.

"Because you're a girl and girls can't fight."

Without thought, Usagi grabbed Yaruki's wooden practice sword and gave him a solid whack on the head.

"What the hell did you do that for?" he yelled at her, grabbing his wooden sword away from her with one hand and clutching the lump on his head with the other.

"Girls can fight! What about the Sailor Senshi?"

"That's different. And anyway, they fight with magic and not with a sword or with their fists." He sneered and brandished his bokken at her.

Usagi's palms itched to grab the piece of wood and smack him his head once more. Instead she looked around and picked up a discarded shinai. "I challenge you, you little brat." Usagi pointed at Yaruki with her sword. When he laughed, Usagi saw red and aimed for his head with two-hand strike.

"Hun?" he's eyes widened as he blocked her blow. 'That was good, solid form. Did she know kendo?'

Usagi brought back her shinai and began to whirl it between her hands like a baton before whipping it around for a strike toward his right side. Yaruki jumped aside, barely escaping the blow and felt the rush of displaced air. 'Dammit, that would have hurt!' Yaruki made a swipe toward her right shoulder. Usagi ducked and poked him in the stomach, air rushing out of him with a 'woof'. She gave him a superior smile and took off running around the corner.

Usagi was enjoying herself. Yaruki reminded her of Shingo. She looked back to find Yaruki a couple of yards behind her. Her smile grew larger and she called out to him, "Come on and get me, Yaruki-chan!" Because she wasn't looking, she ran smack into someone's chest and went down. Hard.

Yaruki caught up to her collapsed form and raised his bokken for an overhead strike, when it was yanked from his hands. He looked up to complain but instead looked sheepish when he saw who it was.

"Yaruki, how many times do I have to tell you not to go and pick any fights?"

On the ground, Usagi's eyes opened wide with shock. 'That voice,' she trembled, 'that voice was the one from my dreams.' She slowly looked up, her eyes traveling over the man's slight form. He was dressed in a fitted blue business suit, his dusky red hair tied back with a string of black leather. He was talking to Yaruki, 'His father.' Her mind supplied. His cheeks were smooth, without a scar to mar their surface. But his eyes, a warm violet, were the detail that decided it for her. Usagi opened her mouth and out came one word.

"Ken…shin."

* * *

"Yaruki, how many times do I have to tell you not to go and pick any fights?"

"But Dad! She attacked me first!"

Kohakume Ryu smiled at his son before asking, "What did you say before she attacked you?" His son looked away and Ryu chuckled. Ryu turned his attention to the girl who was now sitting up. He turned to her with an apologetic smile on his face. Her school uniform had a bit of dirt on the skirt and on the white blouse. Her blonde hair, twisted up in an unusual style looked fine, not a pin out of place.

"Ken…shin."

Ryu's back stiffened. Did he know this girl from back then? His eyes took in her appearance again, the details he skipped over before, registered precise in his mind. 'Local high school uniform, Juuban. Age around fifteen years old. No visible scars or tattoo's to identify her. Short,' his mind measured her limb's, even though she sat on the ground, '5'0" tall, about 110lbs.' He went through his memory. 'No, I don't know her. How does she know me?' Ryu bent his head toward the girl and gave her an innocent smile, unconscious of the fact that it looked exactly like the smile of a certain Rurouni would give. She was looking at his cheek, staring at it hard. He had the urge to look into a mirror to see just what was she staring at. Then she turned to look straight into his eye and it was Ryu's turn to stare. Her eyes were the color of the sky, a pure brilliant blue; pure as the soul that existed there. Those eyes were the same even if the face they now resided in was not. Ryu's mouth open and out came one word.

"Kaoru."

* * *

Side Notes:

**Cultural Festival**: This is more of note, rather then a glossary term. In Japan, school students put together a fair and invite people from the community to attend. Clubs, sport's teams, and individual classrooms participate and put up food booths or games. Clubs/Sport's Teams can fundraise like that and these booths become something of a competition between organizations to see who did the most business. You've seen cultural festivals like this in such other anime's like Card Captor Sakura, Lum Urusai, Kareshi no Kanojijou, and Kaitou Saint Tail. In Sailor Moon, the anime showed two cultural festivals, the one in the R Season and the one in the Sailor Stars series

**Juuban**: Literally "number 10", this is the district in Tokyo that Usagi and the others live in. The high school that Usagi goes to is named after the district also.

**Odango**: Dumpling. Usagi's nickname throughout the series is "Odango Atama" Dumpling Head because of her unusual hairstyle. This nickname is sometimes shortened to just "Odango".

**Taiko:** Japanese Drum

Glossary:

**Bokken**: Wooden practice sword that kendoist used to practice with.

**Sayonara:** Goodbye

**Sensei**: Teacher

**Senshi**: Warrior

**Sessha wa rurouni desu**: This unworthy one is a wanderer

**Shinai**: Japanese practice sword made of bamboo.

I love giving names with meaning to my characters. Takeuchi Naoko-sama also does this with her characters in Sailor Moon. And so the names I gave to the RK cast goes along in this tradition.

Kohakume Ryu (Kenshin): Amber Eye Dragon

Yaruki (Yahiko): Determination

Also, though she probably won't show up in this fic, Shizuka-chan is the future version of Tsubame-chan. Shizuka means, "quiet".

Author's Notes:

Wow, I got this chapter out pretty fast, ne? I ended up working on it in during my physics lectures instead of taking notes, so if I fail that class, it's this story's fault. Please don't expect a chapter every week; I could never keep up with it. I do have the first few pages of the next chapter only because I couldn't help myself when finishing up this chapter. Even I was curious on how the meeting of Usagi and Kenshin would turn out and I'm the writer! So just what happens to Usagi and Kenshin in the next chapter? Sore wa himitsu desu. If you would like to know when I upload my next chapter of this story, please email me your email address and I will do so.

Perhaps you readers are wondering just why I made Kamiya Kaoru a past life for Usagi. Well their characters are very similar. They both are kind, loving, friendly, and are bad cooks. They are both fighters in their own time. They react the same to other girls/women who try to steal their "guys". When Usagi loses Mamoru in the first season of Sailor Moon to the dark Kingdom, she responds the same as Kaoru does when Kenshin leaves her to go to Kyoto. They become somewhat comatose and it takes a friend to get them to rejoin the living. They are also both very forgiving of peoples past. Both are willing to sacrifice their lives for their loved ones. And they both have blue eyes. Well the last reason is a stretcher but since this is my story, I can do what I want.

Hime

11/10/01

revised 4/17/02


	4. Chapter 4

Thank you so much for all your reviews! I love to read them and I get so excited when people say they're enjoying my story. A quick question: Who here hates Mamoru Chiba? (Looks at all the hands waving in the air) Whoa, did I step into a meeting of the "We hate Mamoru from Sailor Moon club"? Why do you all hate Mamo-chan? I love him; he's so yummy! I want to dip him in chocolate and lick—ah, maybe now's not the time to go into that. Oh, not that I don't like Kenshin or anything. I love him too! He looks like he would be great to snuggle with. I can just see myself with him in bed and—you know what? The rating of this story will not let me go further with that line of thought. Hmm, I think I should just get on with the story before I fog up your monitor screens, ne?

Come What May--A Sailor Moon/Rurouni Kenshin Crossover Fanfiction

DISCLAIMER: Characters do not belong to me; they belong to Takeuchi Naoko-sama and Nobuhiro Watsuki-sama (Aren't those two just wonderful).

I'm setting this story in the Sailor Moon anime continuity, one year after the Sailor Moon Sailor Stars Season. Usagi and the Inner Senshi are 17 year olds and Mamoru is 23 years old. There are references to events that happen in the Sailor Moon anime and I give notes on them at the end of the chapter if you are confused. For the Rurouni Kenshin part of the story, I am using the anime up till the "Kyoto arc" and then I switch to the manga for the "Revenge arc". Explanations of the RK events are also explained at the bottom. If you don't know much about Sailor Moon or Rurouni Kenshin, be prepared for some spoilage.

Chapter 4

By: Hime

* * *

"Some love lasts a lifetime. True love lasts forever."

-Unknown

* * *

Yaruki shifted his eyes back and forth from his father and Usagi, watching them stare into each other's eyes. Something was happening between the two of them and he didn't like it one bit. He tugged at his father's sleeve. "Dad," he called, breaking the gaze of the two, "her name's Usagi, not Kaoru." His father looked down at him and gave him a distracted smile.

"Yaruki, why don't you go to the car now. You're brother's already waiting in there." At Yaruki's suspicious glance, his father gave him a shooing motion and said, "I'll be there in a minute. I just want to speak to Usagi-san for a moment." Yaruki started walking away, but kept looking back toward the two.

When the boy turned the corner, the two began looking at each other, noticing the similarities and differences of memory and reality.

"You look completely different, except for your eyes."

Usagi didn't even try to pretend she didn't know what he was talking about. "And you look exactly the same, except for your scar." In a motion that wasn't entirely hers, Usagi brought her hand up to his cheek, caressing the smooth skin. Ryu's hand went up to hold hers, trapping it between his palm and his cheek.

His eyes closed and he took her scent in. "In your last lifetime, you smelled like jasmine. This time you smell like roses."

'Roses.' Usagi softly withdrew her hand. "I'm sorry for what I just did. I have no right to do so. You have a wife and children, and I have—."

"I don't have a wife." Usagi gasped. Would fate be so cruel as to take away his beloved wife in this lifetime as it had in the last?

"I mean I'm divorced."

"Oh. Why…why did you…?" Usagi's voice trailed off, unsure if she even had the right to ask, let alone the right to know the answer.

"I married Kaori-san when I was twenty. She was a student like me at Tokyo University. She was studying to be a teacher and I was going into law." Ryu's eyes were far away. He smiled softly, but the sight of it made Usagi's eyes tear. "She married me thinking I was going to be part of some big law firm. I married her because I thought she was—."

"You married her because you thought she was me." A tear rolled down her face. 'Oh, Kenshin.' She thought mournfully.

"Don't be sad; I'm not. Because of her, I have two beautiful children."

"Yaruki and that other boy, right?"

"His name is Yuuki. Yes, they're fraternal twins."

"I meet both of them the other day. I saw them with an older guy." Usagi paused, waiting for a name.

"You must mean Shinnosuke."

"Who are they? I mean, who are they to me, to Kaoru?"

"You don't remember anything?' His face showed concern, his voice held curiosity.

"You're the only one I remember clearly. I get flashes of the other people and I know in my heart that we were friends, family. But I can't seem to remember exactly who they were to me." Well that wasn't exactly true. There was someone else she remembered about quite clearly even if Usagi hadn't met her in her last lifetime.

"Yaruki was known as Yahiko, Yuuki was known as Yuutarou, and Shinnosuke was known as Sanosuke. Yahiko was a young boy we basically adopted after saving him from a bunch of yakuza. He became your first student in your family's sword style. Sanosuke was our friend, my best friend. And Yuutarou was another young boy we saved from someone who couldn't move forward in his life. He also became your student."

Usagi was looking at the ground. "Why," she began and then stopped.

"Why, what?"

She raised her head and he could see her tears as they rolled down her cheeks. "Why can't I remember them? I know they meant something to me but I can't remember them clearly."

Ryu stepped forward and gathered her in his arms. "Shh, don't cry. You remember that they were close to you. It doesn't matter if you can't remember names. Names aren't important—names change from life to life. The soul stays the same. Even those three don't remember our past. None of them do."

"But you remember. You remember everything. Why?"

Usagi could feel him shrug. "I don't know why. I've always could remember that life every time I'm reborn. I've looked for them; I've looked for you. This is the first time I've met anyone else from the Meiji lifetime."

Usagi closed her eyes as the tears fell once more. 'Oh Kenshin, I'm so sorry.' Usagi gathered herself and stepped out of the comforting circle of his arms. She wiped her face with her arm and smiled. "I don't even know your name and already I'm getting your chest wet."

He watched her with those gentle violet eyes that saw so much. "Hajimemashite, Kohakume Ryu desu. Dozo Yoroshiku." He bowed to her.

Usagi tried to laugh but it sounded more like a chocked sob. "Hajimemashite, Tsukino Usagi desu. Dozo Yoroshiku."

"How old are you Usagi?" This was the first time he had called her by her name and left off any honorific. She felt her stomach clench and release in an odd sort of pleasure.

"Seventeen."

He nodded as if in thought. "I'm twenty-eight. You realize that we're meeting each other at the same age as we were in our last lifetime together." He looked at her, then away. "Seventeen," he murmured, more to himself then to her, "you're so young. Even more so now then in the past."

Usagi knew what he was thinking and felt even worse. He had just basically told her that he had spent several lifetimes looking for her and now that he had found her, he was trying to think of a way for them to be together. 'How do I tell him about Mamo-chan?' she thought to herself. It wasn't fair, not to him or to her. But it wasn't fair to lead him on either.

"Ryu, no Kohakume-san," Usagi called to him. "I have to tell you something. What we had in the past was beautiful, and I'll always cherish those memories. But this lifetime, things are different. I have a new destiny," Usagi held up her left hand, the heart shaped stone of Mamoru's promise/engagement ring glittered in the weak light of the late afternoon sun. "And a new love."

Ryu's eyes widened at the sight of the ring on Usagi's left hand. He dropped his head, his bangs covering his eyes. His hands clenched and unclenched at his sides. "I see." He turned away from her and lifted his head. "Who is he?"

"His name is Chiba Mamoru—"

"The twin's kendo instructor?"

"Yes."

Ryu turned to face her, an outraged look in his eyes. "But he's twenty-three years old! He's six years older then you!"

"And you're eleven years older then me." Usagi managed to say calmly.

"Yes, but I want to marry you!"

"What do you think this ring means!"

They stared at each other, breathing hard. Ryu shook his head and let a drawn out sigh. "I'm sorry. It was out of line for me to accuse Chiba-san of something underhanded."

Usagi sighed also. "It's alright. I understand why you did it."

"Do you?"

"Hun?"

"Never mind. So, where does this leave us?"

"As friends?"

"What?"

"Can't we be friends? I mean, you and Yaruki, Yuuki, and Shinnosuke? I've just met you four and I want to know you guys again."

"Of course we can be friends." Ryu smiled at Usagi. 'If the only way I could be in her life again was as her pet, I would go and buy myself a collar.' He thought, somewhat deprecating toward himself.

Usagi smiled widely, "I'm so happy to have you in my life again."

"So am I." They smiled at each other, but if Usagi's was a bit too bright and Ryu's was a strained, they didn't mention it too each other. Finally Ryu spoke. "Ah, I've got an idea on how you can get to know the twins. Shinnosuke has been looking after them after school but I think it's time he should start thinking going on to college. Why don't you take over his babysitting duty? It should be easy to keep a pair of eleven year olds occupied."

"ELEVEN?" Usagi tried to calculate the numbers in her head. "You married at twenty and you're twenty-eight right now…you had your children out of wedlock!"

"Oro?" Ryu's eyes went wide and he put his hands up in front of him. "No, no. Kaori-san and I adopted them when they were six."

"But you said that it was because of …of her that you had two beautiful children."

"Five years ago, I was only twenty-three. It was because I was married that the courts found me to be a fit parent. If I hadn't been married, I wouldn't have been able to adopt them."

"So Yaruki is adopted in this lifetime like he was in his last."

"Un. Patterns from our last lifetime together are starting to form here. Even Shinnosuke had a similar past like in his last lifetime. He had run away from home and ended up joining a gang to survive on the streets. They called themselves the 'Red Fists'. When Shinnosuke was sixteen, a rival gang committed armed robbery and murdered two police officers. They framed the 'Red Fists'. Shinnosuke and two other gang members were arrested and put into Juvenile Detention. The others were killed in a shootout with the police."

Usagi gasped, both in shock and in horror.

"Shinosuke got out at eighteen with some help from me. I basically gave him a job watching the twins but I think it's time he starts to look toward the future."

"Has he been studying for the college entrance exams?"

"Well he says he has." Ryu thought about it and with a sweat drop said, "But I don't think so."

Usagi laughed. "Well he can join the study group I'm in!"

"Are you sure about that?" Ryu looked doubtful. "Don't you still have a year to go before you have to worry about college?"

"Yes but my friend is very concerned about getting into a good college. In fact, it's probably the best thing for Shin-chan to study with us." Ryu's eyebrow lifted at the 'Shin-chan'. "Mizuno Ami is one of my best friends and if anyone could tutor the hopeless, it would be her."

"You're friends with Mizuno-san?"

"You know her?"

"Well I know her mother."

"You…do?" Usagi felt a bit of jealously. Even though Ami's mother was in her mid-thirties, she still looked quite beautiful and elegant. And she was smart and nice too. 'Did Ryu date her?' she thought to herself a bit darkly.

Ryu noticed Usagi's dismay and smiled to himself. "I know Dr. Mizuno because she's become a mentor to someone I know."

"Oh." Usagi then shook her finger at him. "You didn't have to tell me that, you know."

Ryu smiled down at her. "I wanted too."

"Then that's okay." She smiled back at him. "Well like I was saying, if anyone could tutor him to pass his college exams, Ami-chan could! If he likes, he can come with me on Saturday for our study group." Usagi paused and thought for a moment. "That is, if he doesn't mind being surrounded by girls."

Ryu hid his smirk from Usagi. "I'm sure he won't mind one bit."

"Alright then. Tell him to meet me at 12:00 p.m. at the front gates of Juuban High School. We can all walk together to the Hikawa Shrine to study."

"Hikawa Shrine? The one on Sendai Street?" At Usagi's nod, Ryu frowned. "Isn't that the shrine with the pervert priest?"

Usagi goggled at him. "Wow, you have a good memory. That article's a couple years old." At his continued disapproving stare, Usagi said, "Don't worry. Gramps isn't as bad as the article made him out to be. Anyway, his granddaughter would roast him alive if he tried anything on us." Usagi giggled at the image of Rei roasting her grandfather over an open fire, turning him on a spit as if he was a pig.

"Well I guess you would know…"

"Don't worry." She patted him on the shoulder. "As for the babysitting job, how much would I be making?"

"What? You mean you don't want to do it so you can get to know the twins better?" he said in mock surprise. Usagi gave him a look. "Okay, okay. We'll work something out."

"I want 35,000 yen a month and food privileges."

"Oro!"

"Hey, childcare doesn't come cheap these days."

"Hmmm." Ryu looked at Usagi, considering her offer. 'Well it is less then what Shinnosuke gouges from me. And as far as for the food, look at her; she's so tiny. She probably doesn't eat that much.' Usagi grinned at him. "Deal." Ryu stuck his hand toward her and was surprised when she jumped up and down with a squeal before throwing her arms around his shocked form.

"Usako! Usako!" Mamoru's voice called out. When he turned the corner he saw Usagi standing with her arm in front of her and Kohakume-san lying prone of the floor.

"Orooooo…" Ryu moaned dizzily. Usagi had a sweat drop on the side of her head as Mamoru went to help him up. "Are you okay, Kohakume-san?"

"What did you do to him, rabbit girl!" Yaruki's small form came racing around the corner. He ran in front of his father and glared at her with his teeth bared.

"Yaruki?" At his father's surprised call, Yaruki turned and looked at him with innocent eyes. "You said you were only going to be talking to her for a minute. I got worried." Yaruki turned to look at Usagi with an expression in his eyes, 'With a good reason to be so.'

"Maa, maa. I just tripped." Ryu stood up with a hand from Mamoru. "Thank you." Mamoru gave him a polite smile and went to stand by Usagi.

"Well then, I'll talk to you later Tsukino-san. I'll probably have to talk to your parents."

"Oh yes. Wait." Usagi dug through her pockets, and found a napkin. Ryu gave her a pen and she wrote her phone number down. "Here." Ryu nodded his head.

"What's going on?" Yaruki asked his father suspiciously.

"You'll find out soon enough. Let's get to the car. I bet you left Yuuki in there, didn't you."

Yaruki gave an unconcerned shrug. "What? I left the windows open."

* * *

Usagi and Mamoru watched the two walk away. "So what was all that about."

"Kohakume-san asked if I would like to take care of Yaruki and Yuuki during the afternoons."

"Are you sure about that? I mean babysitting. What about those study sessions?"

"I would still be going to the Saturday study session. I should be fine." She flapped her hand at him. "Don't worry."

"Well if you say so." Mamoru put his arm around Usagi's shoulders and gave small contented sigh. "Let's go to the park and watch the sunset off of 'Rainbow Bridge'."

Usagi turned to him in surprise. "But if we go to the park, won't you be late for at the hospital?"

Mamoru looked down onto her face and smiled. "It would be worth it to see the sunset with you."

"Mamo-chan." Her cheeks turned a bright pink but she sighed happily in agreement. As they walked back to the dojo to collect Mamoru's things and Usagi's book bag, she thought to herself, 'I don't care about the past. I'm not letting anything destroy this present.'

* * *

"Bye bye Mamo-chan! Have fun!" Usagi waved to her running boyfriend and sighed. It was so romantic to have been snuggling next to him as the sunset had painted the sky with streaks of orange and red.

Usagi turned away and started to walk toward her home. 'I wonder what mama is making for dinner.'

"Usagi-chan." The voice called from the shadows. A figure stepped forward into the light. "I need to speak with you."

"Hello, Setsuna-chan. I thought you might."

* * *

Glossary:

**Hajimemashite, desu. Dozo Yoroshiku**: This is a traditionally greeting between people who are introducing themselves for the first time. It basically translates too: "Hello. My name is insert name here. Nice to meet you." This is not a literal translation of course.

**Yakuza**: Gangsters

Side Notes:

**"In your last lifetime, you smelled like jasmine. This time you smell like roses."**: For some reason in fanfics, Kaoru's signature scent in RK is Jasmine. I'm not sure where this idea came from as I don't remember any mention of Kaoru's scent in the manga or the anime. In the Super movie, Usagi tells Luna the reason she smells good is because of the potpourri she uses. A lot of time, potpourri is made with rose petals, so I figured the main scent would be of roses. Also, the scent of roses is a subconscious reminder of Mamoru.

**Would fate be so cruel as to take away his beloved wife in this lifetime as it had in the last?**: In RK, Kenshin had a wife named Tomoe who died when she ran between Kenshin and his enemy. This story is told in the "Revenge arc" of the manga and in the RK first OAV series. On a side-side note, Tomoe's signature scent was plum blossoms.

**"…I was going into law.":** Can't you see Kenshin as a lawyer? This way Kenshin can still fight for the downtrodden, but he uses words now instead of a sword. Actually, Kenshin did try to use words to solve a fight before having to resort to his sword, but it never really worked.

**"Hikawa Shrine? The one on Sendai Street?":** The shrine that Rei lives in is called actually Hikawa (Fire River) in the original Japanese version. Sendai is the street, I think, where the shrine is located on.

**Usagi goggled at him. "Wow, you have a good memory. That article's a couple years old."**: The article I'm referring to is in the R Season of Sailor Moon in that episode where Rei's grandfather was starting some sort of martial arts/exercise course at the shrine. In the DIC version, Rei gets mad at her grandfather for buying an add in the magazine to advertise for his class. In the original Japanese version, Rei's mad at him because that magazine had just published an article warning young women that the Hikawa Shrine had a perverted priest running around.

**"I want 35,000 yen a month and food privileges."**: 35,000 yen is around 300 in America, using a conversion rate of 116 yen to a dollar. I came up with this figure by multiplying 5 by 3 hours a day. Then by 5 days a week, times 4 weeks a month. Then I multiplied it by 116 and rounded up to 35,000.

**"What did you do to him, rabbit girl!":** The reason Yaruki is calling Usagi 'rabbit girl' again is because he's upset at her at the moment. Almost all of the RK cast will call Usagi 'rabbit girl' at some point in this story, as it's the counterpart to the nickname "tanuki-chan" or rather "raccoon girl".

Kaori: In Fanfiction dealing with the RK cast in the future, lots of time the name Kaori is used for Kaoru. I wonder if this is because the names are so similar to each other. So anyway, I used that name for the woman that Kenshin thought was Kaoru as some sort of joke.

Shinnosuke (Sanosuke): I gave this name to Sano because in a fanfic I read, Sano and Megumi had married and all their children's name ended in "nosuke". I had a laugh over that and decided that even in this lifetime, he would have a "nosuke" at the end of his name. The only other Japanese name I knew that ended in "nosuke" was Shinnosuke, and so that's how I got the name.

Yuuki (Yuutarou): Courage. Also if you noticed, Yuutarou starts off with a "Yuu" and so does Yuuki. The same pattern is repeated with the names Yahiko and Yaruki.

Author's Notes:

Hmm, another chapter done in a week. This better not become a habit or I'm going to be so stressed. sigh Well I just took my physics midterm and I'm not feeling all that secure about my grade. I definitely must not write any more chapters during my lectures. I ended this chapter on something of a cliffhanger. You wanna know what I noticed? I hate when there's a cliffhanger when I'm reading, but writing them is real fun.

Oh yeah, just in case you readers didn't know, I got the title of this fic from the song, "Come What May" from the movie, "Moulin Rouge." I loved that movie! Can't wait to get the DVD. Anyway, as a little treat, here are the lyrics to the song. It can be considered a duet between Usagi & Mamoru or Usagi & Ryu. Heck, perhaps all three of them might sing it.

Male: Never knew I could feel like this

Like I've never seen the sky before

I want to vanish inside your kiss

Every day I love you more and more

Listen to my heart, can you hear it sing

Telling me to give you everything

Seasons may change, winter to spring

But I love you until the end of time

Come what may, come what may

I will love you... until my dying day

Female: Suddenly the world seems such a perfect place

Suddenly it moves with such a perfect grace

Suddenly my life doesn't seem such a waste

It all revolves around you

Duet: And there's no mountain too high, no river too wide

Sing out this song and I'll be there by your side

Storm clouds may gather... stars may collide

But I love you...

Female: I love you...

Duet: Until the end of time...

Duet: Come what may, come what may...

I will love you until my dying day

Oh, come what may, come what may

I will love you...

Female: Suddenly the world seems such a perfect place...

Duet: Come what may, come what may

I will love you until my dying day

Come what may, come what may

I will love you until my dying day

Aren't the lyrics so nice? I love that song. And Ewan McGregor has such a great voice. Oh well, these notes are getting too long. I think I should shut up now. But before I go, let me just say this: Setsuna stopping by can only mean one thing—an irregularity in the time stream. What sort of trouble did Usagi's meeting with Ryu start? You'll find out with my next chapter. Bye squared.

Hime

11/18/01

revised 4/3/02


	5. Chapter 5

Come What May--A Sailor Moon/Rurouni Kenshin Crossover Fanfiction

DISCLAIMER: Characters do not belong to me; they belong to Takeuchi Naoko-sama and Nobuhiro Watsuki-sama (Aren't those two just wonderful).

I'm setting this story in the Sailor Moon anime continuity, one year after the Sailor Moon Sailor Stars Season. Usagi and the Inner Senshi are 17 year olds and Mamoru is 23 years old. For the Rurouni Kenshin part of the story, I am using the anime up till the "Kyoto arc" and then I switch to the manga for the "Revenge arc". As always, if you are not familiar with any of these animes, be prepared for some spoilage, light or otherwise.

Chapter 5

By: Hime

* * *

"Some love lasts a lifetime. True love lasts forever."

-Unknown

* * *

"Yo, Kitsune-onna." Shinnosuke held up his right hand, bleeding sluggishly at the knuckles. "Can you take a look at this?"

Hayashi Yanagi turned around to look at his hand. "It's ugly. Goodbye." As she turned away from him, he grabbed her arm and spun her to face him again. "You know what I mean." Shinnosuke growled.

A sigh. "This isn't a free clinic, you know. Doctor's have more important things to do then look after stupid roosters that wonder in." Yanagi said as she led Shinnosuke into an empty examination room.

"Well I'm not bothering a doctor now, am I." he said smugly, leaning against the padded examination table. Yanagi rolled her eyes and reached for some anti-bacterial swipes. She opened the packet and grabbed Shinnosuke's injured hand with a firm and almost painful grip. She looked at it under the fluorescent lights and began to swab it gently.

"Didn't Ryu-san ask you not to get into anymore fights?"

Shinnosuke's answer was smug. "He said not to get in trouble for fighting anymore. I left before the police came." He watched as Yanagi finished up wrapping his hand in gauze.

"Do you have any other wounds I should look at?" she asked disinterestedly.

"Are you kidding me? The guy was such a pansy." He snorted in disgust, either from her question or at the memory of his former opponent.

Yanagi tapped his right fist. "So what's this then?"

Shinnosuke turned his head away and mumbled something. Yanagi's fox ears popped up.

"Ohohoho! How did you hurt your hand?"

"I hiaal." He mumbled through clenched teeth.

"What? I couldn't quite hear that. You did what?"

"I hit a wall!" he shouted at her. The force of his shout caused Yanagi's hair to stream out behind her. "I was about to hit the little prick and he ducked."

Yanagi calmly smoothed down her hair that was ruffled by Shinnosuke's shout and gathered it into a low ponytail. After dealing with this fool, she would actually have to start her intern duties and help the doctor's with their round of patients. "Ah well, your stupidity; your fault." She turned away from him as he clenched his wounded fist and yelped from a stab of pain. Yanagi smirked freely. She opened the door and stepped out, almost flattened by a running Mamoru.

"Sorry! I'm late!" he called over his shoulder as he rushed to the lockers. Yanagi's sensitive nose could smell the scent of roses on him. 'A girl's scent.' Her face darkened a bit as she watched him run off. He was late because he was with his girlfriend. Shinnosuke sauntered out behind her. "What was that all about?"

"That was another intern. He's late." She said shortly. Yanagi shook her mood off and her fox ears popped up again. "He's twenty-three, like me; the residence genius. He's going to be such a successful doctor." She glanced up slyly at Shinnosuke from the corner of her eyes. To her surprise, instead of looking disgruntled as he normally did when she pointed out some other guy's attributes, he looked amused.

"What fox, you're going to quit throwing yourself at Ryu and go after that other guy instead?"

Yanagi's eyes narrowed and her fox ears disappeared as if it had never shown on top her head. "I have never thrown myself at Ryu-san, as you crudely put it." She reached up to toss her hair back over her shoulder but only encountered air. She had forgotten that she had pulled her long black hair into a simple ponytail to keep it out of her way as she worked. Not wanting to look foolish, she patted her hair as if to make sure nothing was out of place. "I just flirted with him a little."

Shinnosuke snorted. "You flirt with everyone. Everyone but me."

Yanagi whirled to look him in the eyes. Her mouth curved into a mocking smile but one could tell she was shaken, as her fox ears didn't make an appearance. "What, are you jealous?"

"No. Just making an observation." Shinnosuke's expression was guarded, his dark eyes serious.

"You're too young to flirt with. You're four years younger then me."

"And you're immature for your advanced age."

Yanagi gasped. "What the hell do you mean I'm immature for my age, you barbaric idiot!"

"If I'm such an idiot and you're so smart, you figure it out." He turned away from her and made for the exit. Yanagi stood alone in the bright hospital hallway and stared at the white kanji gleaming from the dark background of his black jacket. Yanagi shook her head, freeing herself from the strange panic that Shinnosuke was right. "He's just jealous," she said, reassuring herself, "its just jealousy." Unknowingly, her hands clenched together tightly enough to leave tiny half moon circles on her palm caused by her fingernails.

* * *

The pair walked through the park together, a tall statuesque woman who looked to be in her early twenties and a younger woman, a girl really with an unusual hairstyle. There was something haunting about the older woman, as if she wasn't really right there walking through the park. As if she was just passing through the world for a moment, passing the time.

They were silent as they made their way. Finally they stopped at a bench and the two sat down, twisting their bodies to face each other. The older woman opened her mouth to say something but the blonde beat her to it.

"I'll answer your questions after you answer mine."

Setsuna smiled without humor. "I knew you were going to say that."

"Don't."

"I'm sorry. Please, go ahead." Setsuna's voice was contrite. She made a vague gesture with her hand, encouraging Usagi to speak.

Usagi took a big breath and tried to organize her thoughts. She knew that she had said that she had been expecting Setsuna-chan but in reality things had happened to quickly and there had been no way for Usagi to expect anything. What to ask? There were so many things running through her mind. She chose at random. "Why weren't the others born along with me?"

"They weren't needed."

"Then why just me?"

"You were."

Usagi was beginning to get irritated by the short answers she was receiving. "What do you mean I was needed? I never became Sailor Moon or Princess Serenity then!"

"I never said Sailor Moon was needed. I said you were. You, Usagi, just you."

"I don't understand."

Setsuna's eyes became sympathetic. "No, I don't suppose you would. You are not just Sailor Moon or just Princess Serenity. You are a child of the fates. Wherever, whenever you are needed, you are born."

"I still don't understand." Usagi's eye's pleaded with Setsuna.

"Your soul is special. Whenever you are born, it's because something is about to happen, something extremely important."

"How can you know that? I've only been born three times!"

"You only remember three lives." Usagi didn't like the sound of that.

"As I was saying, you were born during the Meiji time period because you were needed there. Your purity, your ability to forgive and to love without reservation. It was needed then to save the fate of this country."

"But I didn't save this country! Kenshin did. I never did anything except get kidnapped." Usagi mumbled under her breath, with some annoyance.

Setsuna gave Usagi an almost maternal smile. "You saved this country by saving Kenshin."

"No, Kenshin always saved me." Usagi said stubbornly.

Setsuna's eyes turned hard, her voice cold. "Listen to me and don't argue. Your soul is like that of a stone tossed into a calm pond. You cause ripples onto the surface, changing that pond. You are a catalyst of change. Things transform for the better when you are around. If you weren't born back then, Himura Kenshin would have stayed a wanderer and died alone. No, he wouldn't have died alone. More then half of the entire population of Kyoto would have gone up in smoke. Others who would have fought in the war against Shishio Makoto would have died. And because of that war, this country would have been plunged into turmoil and become easy pickings for other countries. And as for those people you adopted, the ones that became your family back then, they all would have died long before their time." At Usagi's haunted expression, Setsuna's eyes became softer. "You saved many besides Kenshin. Even in this life, you've saved a lot of people."

"Like Naru-chan, Motoki-niichan, and my family?"

"Those too." At Usagi's confused expression, Setsuna just shook her head in slight exasperation. For someone who just about affected everyone she met, Usagi had no idea of the power she held to change the course of some else's life. "Never mind. Just know that you are important to this world." Usagi just nodded.

Usagi hesitantly asked another question. "Was I…supposed to fall in love with Kenshin?"

"I don't know. I watch what happens and I can view the outcomes. By watching the future unfold, I try to guide you all onto the path that will reap the best benefits. But I am never privy to the knowledge of how things are really supposed to be; that is fates power. More then likely, you were not to fall in love with him, as you already had your soul mate waiting for you." 'I have to believe that to be true.' Setsuna thought to herself.

"Then why did I?"

"Oh Usagi, for a child commanded by the fates, you have the uncanny ability to change yours and others so easily. If anything, I should be the one to ask you why you fell in love with him." 'Even though I already know.'

Usagi looked off into the darkness, her head tilted to the side as she thought. She finally said softly, "He needed so badly to be loved." A simple answer; one from the heart.

"Yes he did, didn't he?" At Usagi's surprised stare Setsuna let out a soft laugh. "You didn't think I wouldn't watch over my princess then, did you?"

"Then why didn't you try to stop me from loving him?"

Setsuna's expression grew sad and almost haunted and she turned to face the trees rather then to look into Usagi's eyes. "I did try. I am the one who put Yukishiro Tomoe in his path that night."

"Yukishiro Tomoe!" Usagi gasped out the name as she stared at Setsuna's profile. "But, she was after Kenshin to avenge her dead fiancé. And this happened way before Kenshin ever met Kaoru, met me. I…" Usagi trailed off, uncertain and very much confused.

"I am at every time. I know what's going to happen fifty years in the future even if I am at the moment watching the present. I knew one day Kamiya Kaoru would be born and I knew you were to meet Kenshin. I just wanted to make sure he was happily married so you two would not fall in love. But fate stopped me. Perhaps they were upset that I was interfering with their order, but in any case, because of my intervention, Yukishiro Tomoe died and Kenshin suffered a living death." Setsuna closed her eyes against her tears and when she opened them, her emotions were controlled once more. 'The guilt is hard to bear. But I can't let it stop me from making sure Crystal Tokyo rises.' They were both quiet for a moment, each reliving memories of a time more then a century before.

"So, before you manipulated events, Tomoe-san was not to die then?"

"Yes. Even if she and Kenshin didn't work out, she would have lived a long time more."

"But then how would Kenshin and I have met?"

Setsuna gave a short bitter laugh, "The fates would have found a way. They always do." 'They're the best at screwing us over, after all.'

Usagi was silent for a moment, either digesting Setsuna's bitter statement or just quiet at thought. She spoke up again, her hands clutched together tightly in her lap. "You chose Tomoe because you could view a happy marriage between the two of them, right?"

"Yes."

"In those futures that you saw, was…was Kenshin happier with her then he was with me? I mean, Kaoru?"

"Do you really need to know?" Setsuna looked at Usagi with a blank expression until Usagi looked away with embarrassment. Setsuna looked away also, out into the night. Fireflies were beginning to light, dancing through the dark, glowing like tiny constellations. She asked again, gently this time, "Do you really need to know?"

Usagi closed her eyes and thought back to what she could remember of her time with Kenshin. Her blue eyes opened and she smiled softly, "No, I guess not. They were happy together; we were happy together. That's all that mattered."

Setsuna closed her eyes also and remembered the life of Himura Kenshin and Kamiya Kaoru. 'That's all that mattered.' Setsuna shook her head, her long hair fanned out slightly in the night breeze. "Can I ask my questions now, Usagi-chan?"

"Oh, oh yes. Go right ahead."

"Now that you know about that past and you have meet Kenshin's modern incarnation, what are you going to do about it?"

"I'm going to be his friend."

"Just his friend?"

"Yes. I've already made my decision. In this lifetime, Mamo-chan's the one I love. No matter what past I had, I'm not living then, I'm living now."

For one of the few times in Setsuna's long lifetime, her face glowed openly with joy. "Oh, I'm so glad to hear you say that! I was so worried. But everything should be alright now and Chibi-Usa will be--." For some reason, Setsuna cut herself off and looked at Usagi who was looking back at her with a puzzled expression. 'Oh by the moon, no.' Setsuna shook her head slowly with a growing horror. 'Please, not that.' But it was too late; Usagi was opening her mouth to ask one more question

"Setsuna-chan? Who's Chibi-Usa?"

* * *

Glossary:

Kitsune-onna: Fox Lady

Niichan: Older brother. Motoki is not Usagi's older brother. He's that blonde guy who works at Crown arcade. It's a nickname of friendship/closeness.

Side Note's

**"Those too.":** If you've seen the Sailor Moon R movie you know what this line means. If you haven't seen it, go watch the original Japanese language/English subtitled version of it! It's the best of the three movies, in my humble opinion.

**"More then half of the entire population of Kyoto would have gone up in smoke. Others who would have fought in the war against Shishio Makoto would have died. And because of that war, this country would have been plunged into turmoil and become easy pickings for other countries."**: Seriously, if you haven't watched the entire Kyoto arc, you're not going too understand the reference. If you really are confused, email me and I'll try to explain what I'm talking about.

**"And as for those people you adopted, the ones that became your family back then, they all would have died long before their time.":** If Kaoru hadn't stopped Kenshin from leaving, the lives of Sanosuke, Yahiko, Megumi, and all the other Kenshin-gumi would have turned out quite differently, with more tragic endings. Well at least they did in my brain.

**Yukishiro Tomoe**: She was Kenshin's first wife, as told by the RK first OAV and in the revenge arc of the manga. She originally sought Kenshin out for revenge as he had killed her beloved fiancé. She ends up falling in love with him and dies while trying to save him. The way I saw it, her death was unnecessary and quite stupid. Now before all you Tomoe fans flame me, let me explain a bit. It was foolish of Tomoe to step between Kenshin's blade and his enemies, but I understand that perhaps for one of the few times in her life, she actually followed her heart and it told her to protect her loved one. Her ability to love this deeply is a redeeming feature for her, but it won't make me like her. Personally she isn't my favorite character of the series, as I prescribe more to what Tae-sama (Fabulous, FABULOUS author!) wrote in her Fanfiction, "Taken With the Notion". But those of you who like the icicle (sorry, couldn't help myself), I won't be Tomoe-bashing or anything like that.

**"…and Kenshin suffered a living death."**: After killing Tomoe by mistake, Kenshin goes off wandering through Japan, making a vow to never take the life of another human being as he feels so guilty to what he did and all the lives he's taken. He does this for 10 years before making his way through Tokyo, only to be attacked my a bokken-waving girl named Kamiya Kaoru. And so their story begins…

**"Setsuna-chan? Who's Chibi-Usa?":** Chibi-Usa is that pink-haired girl that shows up in the second season of Sailor Moon (Sailor Moon R). She's from the 30th century and was trying to get Usagi's silver crystal so she could take it back with her to the future to save her mother. What the Sailor Senshi and the audience find out is that Chibi-Usa is Usagi and Mamoru's future daughter. She shows up again in the rest of the seasons and in fact the SuperS season is mainly about her and Helios, the Pegasus. She goes back to the future in the beginning of the Sailor Stars season after helping to defeat Queen Nephelinia

Author's Notes:

You know, I'm not going to make an issue of me posting chapters within a week of each other. I'm just wasting my time typing those statements. If I post, I post. shrug On to the good news--I just got my physics midterm back and I got a C. I'm so happy! does the happy dance Hey, a C is good for me. I totally don't understand anything in that class. Ah well, it should get better as I start to pay attention in my lectures and stop writing instead.

If anyone thinks it's OOC of Setsuna to think, 'They're the best at screwing us over, after all.' my excuse is that she's alone for who knows how long and feels very bitter toward the fates. Who's she going to monitor her language for? Also, she's thinking that and who here hasn't ever thought something like that even if we usually don't say anything like that out loud?

Dundunda!! Who would have expected Setsuna too be the one to set Tomoe and Kenshin up? And boy did Setsuna get a shock from Usagi. Who else here is happy to see the existence of the pink menace gone? giggles I hate that brat but I didn't take her out just because of that reason. There's more too it, but Chibi-Usa being gone is just a bonus. So what happens next time? I'm actually not sure about it yet. We'll all just have to wait and see what my weird little muse tells me to write. Until then, ja ne!

Hime

11/24/01

revised 4/17/02


	6. Chapter 6

Come What May--A Sailor Moon/Rurouni Kenshin Crossover Fanfiction

DISCLAIMER: Characters do not belong to me; they belong to Takeuchi Naoko-sama and Nobuhiro Watsuki-sama (Aren't those two just wonderful?).

I'm setting this story in the Sailor Moon anime continuity, one year after the Sailor Moon Sailor Stars Season. Usagi and the Inner Senshi are 17 year olds and Mamoru is 23 years old. For the Rurouni Kenshin part of the story, I am using the anime up till the "Kyoto arc" and then I switch to the manga for the "Revenge arc". As always, if you are not familiar with any these two animes, be prepared for some spoilage, light or otherwise.

Chapter 6

By: Hime

* * *

"Some love lasts a lifetime. True love lasts forever."

-Unknown

* * *

"Yes, thank you Tsukino-san, oh I mean Ikuko-san. Yes, starting on Monday would be great." Ryu paused, listening to Usagi's mother on the other end of the line before cutting her off, "No, no, Usagi-san is the one doing me the favor." As Ikuko-san began talking again, Ryu started to bow his head in agreement even if she wasn't there to see him. "Yes, yes. Umm. Goodbye." He hung the phone up with a short sigh. Well, he had gotten permission from Usagi's mother to have Usagi look after his sons. Now all he had to do was to convince Yaruki that this was a good thing. Ryu didn't understand Yaruki's vehemence at the mention of Usagi looking after him and his brother. In his other lifetime, Yahiko seemed to dislike Kaoru but underneath it all, he genuinely cared and loved her. Now it seemed as if Yaruki hated Usagi at first glance. Ryu shook his head, a few stands of dusky red hair coming out of its tie. He pushed them back behind an ear and went to the twin's bedroom. He knocked lightly and heard Yuuki call out a greeting of entry. Opening the door, he saw Yuuki at his desk, doing his homework and Yaruki lying on his bed, facing the wall. Ryu could hear the muted sounds of explosion coming from the gameboy Yaruki held in his hands. He sat down on Yaruki's bed and reached over to take the machine from his son's hands.

"Hey, don't turn it off! I haven't saved it yet!" Yaruki cried out, trying to snatch his gameboy back. Ryu peacefully gave it back to his son. After saving his game, Yaruki turned to his father with a scowl on his face. "You probably want to talk to us."

"Yes. It's been a couple of years that Shinnosuke has been watching you two. I know how much you two enjoy his company," Ryu ignored Yaruki's snort and continued to speak, "but I think it's time that Shinnosuke starts to look toward his future. To that effect, Shinnosuke will now be going to study sessions to help him pass the college exam instead of looking after you two." There was a moment of silence before the twins broke out into gales of laughter.

"Shi-shinnosuke going to study session—" Yuuki couldn't even finish his sentence as he was laughing so hard. Ryu patiently waited for a few minutes for the twins to calm done but as they continued to laugh up a storm, he finally cleared his throat.

Giggle. "Ahem. There was more?" Yuuki managed to get out, still grinning from ear to ear.

"As I was saying, since Shinnosuke will be studying," the twins started to shake in silent laughter, "he won't be able to look after you two and so I have gotten someone else to take over his job." Yaruki stopped laughing and looked at his father.

"Tell me you didn't ask rabbit-girl to look after us!" Yaruki demanded.

"Her name is Usagi-san and yes, she will be the one to look after you."

"Who's Usagi?"

"Rabbit-girl is that blonde who gave us bus money the other day." Yaruki spat out, as if she had given them drugs instead of bus fare. The picture of the blonde girl's smile blossomed in Yuuki's head and he quickly looked down to hide the fact that he was blushing. 'So her name's Usagi.' He thought to himself.

Ryu ignored Yaruki's poisonous glares and continued, "She will be looking after you two, from after school until I return from work." Looking at Yaruki, Ryu said to him, "I want you to give her the same respect you give Shinnosuke." Thinking about that, a sweatdrop ran down Ryu's head and he hastily corrected himself. "I mean, I want you to give her the respect you would give to me." With his son sneering and glaring daggers at him, Ryu wanted to correct himself again but that would just make him look stupid. Instead he looked at Yuuki, hoping that he wouldn't be so vehement about a new babysitter. To his surprise, he found Yuuki staring at the wall with a small smile on his face. 'Well at least Yuuki's okay with it.'

"If Rooster-head can't look after us, why don't you let us look after ourselves? We're eleven, old enough don't you think to let us look after ourselves." Yaruki said, his mouth set in a straight line.

"You will have to look out for yourselves—She's only going to be with you on Monday through Friday afternoons. After your half day at school on Saturday, you both will be responsible for yourselves."

Just then, the sound of the front door opening and slamming shut made all of them jump. "Hey! Anyone home?" Shinnosuke called out from the living room. Yaruki jumped up and raced out of the room.

"Hey," Shinnosuke greeted Yaruki with a bandaged covered hand as the boy skidded to a stop in front of him, "what did Ryu cook for dinner?"

"Do you think you live here, you big jackass? Don't you have a barn to go home too?"

"What the hell are you yelling at me for, you little punk! Ryu invited me over for dinner!" Shinnosuke yelled at the boy in front of him, his mouth opened wide showing fangs. "So shove that up your ass and choke on it!"

"Maa, maa. I think you're getting your metaphor's mixed up again Shin." Ryu went over to stand behind his son, silent and glaring at the older male in front of him. Ryu had tried to get Shinnosuke to speak without swearing when they had first met in this lifetime, but gave it up as a lost cause. Shinnosuke would always be one to swear, no matter what incarnation. "As for dinner, I didn't get a chance to start cooking yet. Why don't we just order in?"

Shinnosuke immediately started to rub his hands together in anticipation, his anger forgotten at the mention of food. "Let's get some pizza."

Yaruki still glowered at the older boy but said, "I want teriyaki beef and bell peppers."

"We had that the last time," Yuuki complained as he came out of the bedroom, "let's get tuna."

"As the dinner guest," emphasis on the word 'guest', "I want mayonnaise and cuttlefish." Shinnosuke butted in.

The three began to argue, deciding who should choose which toppings they had on the pizza. Ryu gave a small cough and when he got their attention, he put his hand behind his head and gave a smile. "I personally like pineapples."

All three stared at him as if he was a freak before going back to arguing among themselves once more. A sweatdrop ran down Ryu's head before he turned away from them with a small frown. No one ever let him put pineapple on the pizza.

* * *

"Ah, now that was good pizza." Shinnosuke said with a satisfied smile, and picked his teeth with a toothpick.

"Which one?" Ryu asked him wryly. Finally they decided they would order two pizzas', one with teriyaki beef with bell peppers on one half and with tuna chunks on the other. Shinnosuke got his own pizza with his choice of topping and managed to eat it and all the leftovers of the other pizza also.

Shinnosuke tucked the toothpick into the corner of his mouth and kept it there, idly chewing on the end. "Now what did you want to talk to me about?" Shinnosuke questioned and got comfortable in the easy chair he now occupied. He and Ryu were sitting in the living room, the twins cleaning up in the kitchen. Ryu had told the two that he wanted to talk to Shinnosuke alone.

"Shinnosuke, do you ever think about your future?"

"Sure I do." Shinnosuke lazily scratched his belly, a bit round after his large meal. "I think about going to play the races tomorrow or going drinking with—"

Ryu interrupted his friend before he went on, "No, I meant thinking about your future in terms of years. What are you planning on doing with your life?"

Now Shinnosuke looked at Ryu with more alert eyes. "What do you mean?"

"Exactly what I said. What are you planning on doing with your life? You can't mean to spend the next years taking care of the twins right?"

Shinnosuke jumped out of his chair. "Are you firing me? Is this what dinner was all about? Did Yanagi go squealing to you about my fight? Look, I know you said you didn't want me to get into any more trouble and I didn't! I was long gone before the cops even showed up!"

"Oro?" Ryu's eyes grew wide as Shinnosuke began babbling about some wussy ducking and hitting a wall and talking to a fox. "Shinnosuke, calm down. I haven't spoken to Yanagi-san since a couple of days ago."

Shinnosuke immediately went quiet and sat back in his chair once more. "Oh. Never mind then."

Ryu looked at the teenager from the corners of his eyes. Shinnosuke gave him a wide grin that showed off most of his teeth. "And as for firing you, yes I am doing that and yes that was what this dinner was all about." Ryu held up his hand to stave off any questions from Shinnosuke as he began to speak again. "And I'm not firing you because you got into a fight even after I asked you not too." Shinnosuke gave him an unapologetic grin. Ryu shook his head in slight exasperation and gave a small sigh before continuing. "I want you to go to college, Shin."

Shinnosuke looked at Ryu with a stunned look on his face before breaking out into laughter. "No, really? Why are firing me for?" He cocked his head to the side and gave a smirk before giving Ryu a nudge in his side with his elbow, "What, found a honey and now you want to set her up in style? I'll have you know that you don't pay enough for something like that."

'Orooo.' Ryu thought to himself and almost winced before catching himself. "No, I really do want you to go to college. What are you going to do when you're twenty-five? When you're thirty? You're going to need a college education if you want to get a good job."

Shinnosuke leaned forward to look Ryu in the eyes. He gave a low whistled and said, "Wow, you're serious. But me in college? I mean, let's get real here. I don't have that kind of money and I could never past the entrance exam."

"But if you pass the exam and got the money, would you go?"

Shinnosuke gave him a guarded look. "I guess." He finally said slowly after thinking about it for a moment.

"Then it's settled. You'll go to study sessions on Saturday's and cram school on the weekdays. If all you do is study from now until the test, I'm sure you'll pass."

"Right." Shinnosuke drawled out and looked at Ryu as if he was crazy. "Study from now until the test? I don't think so!"

"And doing nothing with your life would be better?"

"Hey! I am doing something with my life! I'm, I'm—"

"No your not. But you could be. Just try, Shinnosuke, not for me, but for yourself. You're the one that's going to have to live your life." Ryu implored the young man.

Shinnosuke groaned and ducked his head down. Finally he looked at Ryu with a pissed off expression. "Crap. This means I'm going to have homework again."

Ryu let out a relieved sigh. He was afraid for a moment that Shinnosuke wouldn't go along with his plan. "Alright then. You go to a study session on Saturday with Usagi-san and—"

"Wait a minute! Who's Usagi-san?"

Kenshin thought about how to describe Usagi. "You know the twin's kendo instructor? Well Usagi-san is his girlfriend. She's also going to be watching the twin's after school, except for Thursday afternoon's when the twin's go to their kendo lesson and on Saturday when she goes to her study sessions."

"You only know Usagi as the kendo teacher's girlfriend and you're just going to let her watch your kids?"

"Actually, I had met Usagi years ago, I only just now met up with her again." Ryu smiled at Shinnosuke. 'Technically it was true.' Ryu thought to himself, 'I did meet her years ago, though centuries would be a more apt description.'

"But still, even if you know her, she's still a stranger to your kids."

"Well all three of you have met her accidentally. Remember the day you gambled away the bus money to get home?" This time a sweatdrop ran down Shinosuke's head. "Well Usagi-san's the girl who gave you money for the ride home."

"That blonde girl's Usagi? Isn't she too young to be dating a kendo instructor? I mean she looked fifteen or something."

"Usagi-san is seventeen and the kendo instructor is still in college."

"Hey! If she's only seventeen, why am I going to a study session with her? She's not going to college for another year!"

"Yes but her friend is already making Usagi-san and some other girls study for the college entrance exam."

"So if I go to this study session, then I will be taught by Usagi's smart female friend and surrounded by her other girlfriends?" Ryu nodded his head 'yes' with amusement.

"Well if it'll help me get into college, I guess sacrifices will have to be made." Shinnosuke leaned back into his chair with a huge grin on his face. "So tell me, are these friends of Usagi's cute?"

* * *

"Setsuna-chan? Who's Chibi-Usa?"

The question seemed to hang in the air between the two, almost taking physical shape. Setsuna looked at Usagi with a growing horror in her eyes. Since Setsuna was so silent, Usagi asked her question again. "Who's Chibi-Usa? Is she a friend from the future?" she asked innocently.

"Yes." Setsuna managed to get out, "Chi—she's a friend from the future." She stood up in one fluid motion. "Let's get you home. It's late." She helped Usagi stand and started a brisk walk toward the Tsukino residence. After several false starts, Usagi stopped trying to start a conversation and instead concentrated on keeping up with Setsuna's ground-eating strides. Walking with Setsuna was like trying to keep up with the wind, and Usagi grinned at the thought as it reminded her of Haruka-chan and Michiru-chan. They were both touring Europe together, playing for large audiences, Michiru on her violin and Haruka accompanying her on the piano. 'I wonder if they got the letter I wrote to them.' Then Usagi grinned foolishly to herself. 'Oh yeah, forgot to mail it. Tomorrow, I'll do it tomorrow.' Soon enough the two were in front of Usagi's home, stopping in front of the metal gate.

"Would you like to come in, Setsuna-chan?"

"Not this time. I have to get back to the Time Gates. I will see you later." Setsuna turned from her Princess and seemed to vanish within the space of shadows from one lamppost to the next. Usagi waved to the Guardian of Time even though she knew that Setsuna wouldn't look back at her. 'Ah well.' Usagi said to herself with a shrug.

"I'm home!" she shouted as she stepped through her front door. As she bent over to take off her shoes, Usagi heard footsteps heading her way.

"Usagi, a Kohakume-san has called asking permission for you to look after his twin son's. Do you know anything about this?"

"Umm, his twin son's are taught kendo by Mamo-chan and they needed a new sitter so I volunteered. It'll be okay, right? I mean I'll still study on Saturday and Sunday, and really I still have a year to go before I actually have to start worrying about college exams. I should be able to do this since I've been so responsible lately."

"Responsible lately? Do you know how many times you've been late to school in the past month? Have you cleaned up your room like I how asked you to, a week ago?"

Usagi looked down at her feet, her face pink. She had forgotten about cleaning up her room, but then again even when she did do it, it became messy again within a week or so. Ikuko looked at her daughter and gave a sigh before placing her hand on Usagi's shoulder. "You say you have been acting responsible lately but I think you have more to go." Usagi cringed under her mother's hand. "That's why I'm allowing you to baby-sit in hopes that this will experience will help you learn to be more reliable."

It took a moment or two for Usagi's brain to process what her mother said before she raised her eyes and looked at her. When Ikuko nodded and gave her daughter a smile, Usagi gave a loud whoop and hugged her mother before jumping up and down in excitement. "This is going to be so great! I'll be really responsible, you'll see! I'll even clean my room after I come back from studying on Saturday!" Usagi gave her mother one last hug before racing toward the stairs. "Thank you, Mama." Usagi's thanks floated down the hallway toward her mother. Ikuko shook her head as she heard the pounding steps of her daughter as Usagi took the steps two at a time, something she hadn't done since she was in elementary school. No matter how old she would get, Usagi would always be Usagi.

* * *

Side Notes:

**A note on the Japanese School System**: In Japan, students go to school on Saturday's for half a day. Not sure why they do so, but I know they do.

**Now it seemed as if Yaruki hated Usagi at first glance**: Ah, poor clueless Ryu-chan. The reason Yaruki dislikes Usagi, if you guys haven't figured it out yet, is he fears that Usagi will steal his father away from him and his brother.

** "Let's get some pizza.":** In Japan, people do eat Italian/American-style pizza. They just use some really weird toppings such as mayonnaise (shudder I hate mayonnaise.) and other disgusting stuff. Don't believe me? If you ever go to Japan and check out Pizza Hut, you'll see. And yes, they really do have Pizza Hut's there.

Author's Notes:

Well for all you readers out there who missed Ryu in the last chapter, you got a big helping this time. Just in case y'all are wondering, I don't think the other outer Senshi will appear in this story, sorry to those who want them to show up. I really only needed Setsuna in this story. Perhaps if I need them, they will show up but I advise you to not hold your breath.

I was planning on writing more for this chapter but since I haven't posted for a while, I thought I should just end it here and post this sucker. You know writing on a schedule is hard. It's true—I'm not trying to get you readers to feel sorry for anything or me—I'm just telling it like it is. Well finals are all over and I feel pretty okay about what I'll be getting for grades. While I will have more time for writing now that school has ended, I do work over the vacation and school will start up again in January. And during the new semester, I will be starting up a new anime/manga club at school so I should be busy with that too. Wow, am I ever going to find time to write? I hope so, as I have to finish up this and my other story, Children of the Night. Ah well, we'll see how it goes, ne? I hope all of you had a Happy Holiday and I wish all of you a Merry New Year!

Hime

12/27/01

revised 4/17/02


	7. Chapter 7

Purr: Actually in the manga, it does show that Yuutarou develop what looks to be a crush on Kaoru. I think it's shown in the anime but not as obvious as in the manga. That's why I had Yuuki have a little crush on Usagi.

loupgarou7: Sorry, but since I'm using the manga version of RK, Sayo never showed up in Sano's past life so she won't be showing up now. And anyway, I like the chemistry between Sano and Megumi too much to have Sano get into a relationship with someone else. Yeeheehee! Yes I saw the first part of the second OAV and while I don't care much for how they drew Kaoru, the story does seem really interesting as they altered some events that happened in the anime/manga. Can't wait to see the second part.

Come What May--A Sailor Moon/Rurouni Kenshin Crossover Fanfiction

DISCLAIMER: Characters do not belong to me; they belong to Takeuchi Naoko-sama and Nobuhiro Watsuki-sama (Aren't those two just wonderful?).

I'm setting this story in the Sailor Moon anime continuity (with a hint of the manga), one year after the Sailor Moon Sailor Stars Season. Usagi and the Inner Senshi are 17 year olds and Mamoru is 23 years old. For the Rurouni Kenshin part of the story, I'm using the anime until just after the "Kyoto Arc" and then I switch to the manga for the "Revenge Arc". As always, if you are unfamiliar with any of these two animes, be prepared for some spoilage, light or otherwise.

Chapter 7

By: Hime

* * *

"Some love lasts a lifetime. True love lasts forever."

-Unknown

* * *

When the Sailor Senshi first went through the Time Gates all those years ago, they never had the chance to explore the place around them, with good reason—They might have seen something they shouldn't have. So Sailor Pluto rushed them off to the future, through the gates to Crystal Tokyo. The Senshi never got the chance to see the beauty of the Time Gates. How the mist flying low through the air made it seem as if one was walking on the clouds. How in the center chamber, hundreds of thousands of mirrors were suspended in air by nothing short of magic, each capable of showing a different moment in time. It was in this chamber that Sailor Pluto stood in front of an ornate mirror with a frame of white crystal. The light that filtered through the air, came from an unknown light source, and caused rainbows to appear from the beautiful frame.

"Father Cronos, Lord of all time past and yet to come. Grant me the sight to see what I need to see. Show me the future of the 30th century. Show me Crystal Tokyo." Sailor Pluto lifted her staff and pointed the garnet ball toward the blank mirror. The orb flashed a brilliant shade of garnet and went dark once more. The mirror stayed blank, showing nothing. Sailor Pluto's eyes glittered with unshed tears as she failed for the fourth time to call upon the sight of the future. She was tempted to shatter the mirror into pieces with her staff, the black surface almost seeming to mock her efforts, but managed to control herself. She walked to another mirror, this time with it's frame made out of aged cherry wood.

Once more she called upon her powers to show her what she wanted to see and this time the mirror granted her wish. She watched as instead of a pink-haired girl falling out of the sky, landing on a kissing couple, she herself appeared from out of a reflection in the water to inform her future queen and king about a fight for the future. Suddenly, all the memories of herself doing so came to her, making Sailor Pluto grab her head in acute agony as her mind tried to process all the new knowledge.

Pluto turned to another mirror, leaning on her staff slightly. The mirror immediately came to life, showing how Setsuna had led Usagi to meet a lonely girl named Hotaru and watched as they befriended each other. Once more knowledge flooded through her mind. Pluto understood what was happening. If Chibi-Usa's existence had been erased from the timelines, then the past was beginning to change, removing the traces of the young girl. The only way to make sure the end of the world didn't happen was for Pluto to step in and make sure certain events occurred, taking the place of Chibi-Usa. And the reason that Chibi-Usa didn't exist was because the conditions that would have led to her birth had been changed. Every little thing someone does sends a ripple that causes another ripple and another. By meeting Ryu in this lifetime, Usagi changed the future without knowing. Even if Usagi and Mamoru were to have a child, it wouldn't be Chibi-Usa, at least not the one that they had all known, since the circumstances are different. Her name might be the same, but her soul wouldn't be. Pluto cursed her ability to know and remember all the different aspects of the future and the past for the millionth time in her long lifetime. Even if no one else could remember Chibi-Usa, Sailor Pluto would and she would mourn the young princess who came to mean so much to her.

Pluto wanted desperately to cry, to take time out from her duties and just let all her sadness, her helplessness out in a river of tears, but she knew she couldn't. She hadn't cried when she saw the Moon Kingdom fall, she wouldn't cry when the fates took her surrogate daughter from her. Now she moved toward a plain mirror, the only one that was showing any scenes of life. It was the mirror of the "present" and she watched as Makoto-chan answered a question asked by her teacher while Usagi tried to hide behind her textbook. With a hesitant hand, Pluto reached out to the mirror and lightly touched it's surface. The scene changed to show a handsome red-haired man at a desk, dressed in a white dress shirt with his sleeves rolled up. He was writing on a legal pad, his handwriting messy and almost unreadable. Pluto watched this scene for a while before making a gesture over the mirror as if erasing the scene before her and the mirror went dark. Even though the images were gone, she stared into its glassy surface with an intense stare, as if doing so, she would be able to see the answers to all the questions she had of the future. 'What now, O' Guardian of Time?' she asked herself mockingly. But there was nothing that she could do now except wait for the future to unfold. 'At least Usagi said she would stay with Mamoru,' she thought with a little optimism. 'As long as those two are together, the future is not lost.'

* * *

Luna was mad at her, Usagi thought to herself, a little depressed about her fight with her guardian cat. When Usagi entered her room last night, Luna had been there to pounce on the girl with questions about a certain "Kenshin". Unable to answer the cat's questions to her satisfaction, Usagi finally blew up and told her it was none of her business. Hurt, Luna announced that she was going to stay at Minako's house for the time being, leaving the room from Usagi's open window. The fact that Luna was going by herself to Minako's house showed how upset the cat was. To get to her house, Luna would have to cross a main street, one that was known for it's heavy traffic; a street that Luna avoided as much as she avoided the neighborhood dogs.

Usagi sighed as she walked out of her classroom. 'Well there's nothing I can do about now.' She hurried when she saw her friends waiting for her at the end of the hall. As she reached them, it was at that moment she realized something. "Um, guys? Is it okay if a friend comes with us to the study session?"

Ami smiled at Usagi, "Sure, the more the merrier. Who is she?"

"Actually, it's a guy."

Straight away, Minako and Makoto surrounded her, and began to ask, "Who is he? Is he cute? Does he attend this school?"

"Um, he's names Shinnosuke and he's already graduated from high school." At least, Usagi hoped he graduated from high school. She shook her head. "As for him being cute, why don't you go and see for yourselves. He's waiting for us outside the school gates."

The two rushed to the windows, intent on seeing this guy. "Shoot, can't see his face." Minako said with a pout.

"Why don't we just go down and meet him." Ami said. Minako immediately got a sly grin on her face and began to poke Ami in the side with her elbow. "Why Ami-chan, curious to see if he's cute too?" Ami blushed a bright red.

"Minako-chan, stop teasing her." Makoto admonished her friend. Ami gave the tall brunette a glad smile.

"You're right! We should hurry down and check too see if this guy's cute!" Minako said with a giggle before zooming off.

"Um, maybe you should catch her before she scares your friend off." Makoto gave Usagi a nudge, hurrying her along after Minako. Makoto grabbed on to Ami's elbow, dragging her along with her long strides. "I wouldn't want to miss this for anything."

* * *

"Babysitting!" Makoto, Minako, and Ami shouted out in surprise. As one, they turned to stare at the blushing blonde besides them.

"Who would trust you to watch their kids?" Minako blurted out. Both Makoto and Ami put their hand to their forehead in acute embarrassment. Shinnosuke looked amused, wearing the same smirk he had on when the girls had arrived to hear Minako ask him for his birth date, as she wanted to check if, astrologically, they would make a good couple. In fact, come to think of it, Makoto and Ami did the same things with their hands when they heard this. Usagi, on the other hand, just got mad.

"Excuse me?"

"Who would trust you to watch their kids?" Minako said slowly, with much enunciation. Confused, Usagi turned to Ami.

With a smile, the blue-haired girl said to her friend, "I think she thinks you asked her to repeat herself."

"You mean she wasn't?" At Minako's innocent question, Shinnosuke couldn't hold it in any longer; he had to laugh. And so he did, laughing so hard he had to stop walking and bent over in the effort to catch he's breath. Once he could breath properly he gave all four girls a big grin. "I can see studying with you guys will be some fun after all."

"Why are you studying with us, Shinnosuke-san? I mean, if you don't mind me asking you." Ami said politely.

"You can call me Shinnosuke or just Shin is fine." He said to Ami with a wink, smiling a little when a faint pink hue came to the younger girl's cheeks. He then shrugged and continued saying, "I'm going to need a lot of help to pass the college entrance exams and I heard you were a genius, so why not study with the best." Ami's blush intensified in color, turning her face red.

To cover her embarrassment, Ami turned to look at Usagi. "Usagi-chan do you think it's wise to take an afternoon job? Will you be able to keep up with your studies?"

"Oh come on Ami-chan. Usagi will do fine. And think of what she can buy us with her hard earned cash!" Minako said gleefully with an arm around the blue-haired girl's shoulders.

Shinnosuke didn't bother to hide his grin as he watched Usagi chase her friend around the tall brunette. He liked how this Minako-girl thought. If Usagi's other friend turned out to be just as unusual as Minako-chan, today's study session would be a blast.

* * *

"And then these girls used their psychic energy to repel the demons trying to take over Japan after World War II. The fought in these huge mecha's that were run by steam and these women were actress' during the day." There was complete silence after Shinnosuke stopped talking. "What? Did I miss something?" Shinnosuke asked, unnerved by the long pause.

"Ah, Shinnosuke-san," Ami began, "where did you get this information."

"Oh, some historical manga I picked up."

"Sakura Taisen?" Minako asked with disbelief.

"Yeah that's the one!" He said with a smile. There was a moment of silence before Usagi burst out laughing.

"Bwahahaha!" Usagi began to chortle.

"Usagi-chan!" Ami gasped out. How rude of her to laugh at Shinnosuke's…mental deficiencies.

"What'd I do?" Usagi turned hurt eyes to her friend. Rei had a hunch and looked at Usagi's textbook, which Usagi quickly brought up to her chest. With her mouth set in a frown, Rei wrestled the book away and found to her displeasure a tankoubun of the recent volume of "HunterXHunter" nestled within.

"Usagi…" Rei fairly growled the name out. With great interest Minako looked on. She hadn't seen Rei chew Usagi out in a while and, weirdly enough, she had been missing the scene a bit. She propped her head up with her hand and wished that Usagi and Shinnosuke hadn't eaten all the snacks earlier.

"Usagi no Baka! You're here to study, not goof off. I go easy on you for a couple of months and this is how you act? That's it, you are going to study all the time if I have to strap you into a chair and tape your eyes open!" The room was quiet as everyone wondered how Usagi would react to the tongue-lashing she had just received.

"Oh Rei-chan, I'm so glad you're yelling at me!" Usagi jumped off the ground and hugged her stunned friend. "I was so worried when you started to be so nice to me all of a sudden." Minako's head slipped off her hand and landed with a thump onto the table surface. Everyone else fell over on his or her side. Then the sound of Shinnosuke's laughter filled the room.

"Geez Rabbit-girl, you have got to be the weirdest person I've ever met."

"Then you have to be the stupidest, you-you Rooster-head!" Usagi fired back. 'Rooster-head?' That sounded vaguely familiar to her. Suddenly, Shinnosuke began to laugh again and then Usagi began to laugh with him. The other girls just watched the two with wide eyes, Rei especially.

"Well if you don't like Rabbit-girl, why don't I just call you Jou-chan, then?"

"Couldn't you just use my real name?"

"Where would the fun be in that?"

"Then I'm going to call you Shin-chan." At this, Rei's eyes narrowed and Shinnosuke raised his hands in protest.

"Shin-chan? Makes me sound like a wuss." He snorted at the thought.

"Ohhhh…" Minako began to shiver in her seat. "Can I call you Shin-chan too?"

"Huh?" Shinnosuke turned to look at her and was surprised to find she was sitting right next to him. He hadn't even noticed that she had left her place from the other side of the table. "No one's going to call me Shin-chan."

"Ah, come on Shin-chan, you know you look too cool for anyone to think that." Minako grabbed his arm and let her head drop on it and looked up through her lashes at him. Makoto had to shake her head in amazement at this display before her. Minako was laying it on really thick and Shinnosuke was lapping it up. Makoto wanted to look away but she couldn't manage to do it. It was like a horrible traffic accident had just occurred before her and while she didn't want to see the dead bodies; she couldn't quite look away from the scene either. Finally, Makoto turned to look at Usagi and found the blonde girl writing furiously into her notebook.

"Usagi-chan, what are you writing?"

"I'm taking notes." Usagi said, as she continued to write, lifting her head to watch Minako and Shinnosuke. "Minako's technique might come in handy one day."

* * *

"Who are you?" The question rang through the serene air of the temple grounds. Shinnosuke turned around to see Usagi's friend Rei looking at him with serious purple eyes. "Who are you to Usagi?"

"Just Shin-chan." He replied with a smirk. When her expression didn't change, Shinnosuke dropped his smirk and gave a sigh before saying, "I'm a friend of a friend of hers. Nothing but a friend."

"Which friend of Usagi's are you friends with?"

"Why should it matter to you?"

"Because…" Rei's voice trailed off.

"Because of what?"

"You don't need to know why I'm asking." Rei fired back, anger making her eyes glow with an inner fire.

"Then you don't need to know my answer." Shinnosuke turned to go when Rei grabbed his right hand. A weird shock ran up her arm and a quick scene came up before her eyes of someone who looked like Shinnosuke and a beautiful black-haired women before Rei pulled her hand back as quickly as she could.

"What?" She looked at her hand and then at his. Grabbing his wrist, she turned his palm up to face the sun and her inspection. An ugly red line marred his palm.

Uncomfortable under her intense stare, Shinnosuke shrugged and said, "It's just a birthmark I've had since I was young. It's not anything special."

Rei didn't seem to even notice that he spoke up and murmured under her breath, "It's a psychic scar." Shinnosuke shot her a frown and pulled his hand back.

"Ah, excuse me." She let his hand go and in a distracted voice said, "I hope you come to Monday's study session." She turned away from him, flipping her long black hair over her shoulder. Shinnosuke was instantly reminded of Yanagi. It was the same elegant motion, the same flick of the wrist. He watched Rei enter through the sliding doors of her room, where the rest of the girl's continued to study. Shaking his head, Shinnosuke began walking toward the stairs. 'I need a drink. Studying is way to hard.'

* * *

With one hand on the frame of her door, Rei looked out toward the stairs, eyes unfocused as she thought about Shinnosuke and the mark on his hand. 'What happened to him, that he should carry a mark from a past life?' she wondered to herself. Her worries about Usagi and this "friend" of hers was forgotten as Rei puzzled over something new. 'And that scene I saw. Was that image of how he got it?'

"Rei-chan, you alright?"

Startled, Rei whirled to meet Makoto's concerned green eyes. "What's wrong?"

Rei turned to shut her door. "Nothing's wrong." She managed to say in a calm tone. When she knew her eyes showed nothing of her troubled thoughts, she turned to face her friend. "Nothing at all."

* * *

Glossary:

**Tankoubun**: complied issues of 1 series, like how in the Sailor Moon tankoubun they have fours "acts" in the first volume.

Side Notes:

**Sakura Taisen**: This is a manga and OAV series, which in America is called Sakura Wars. I liked this series and if you've ever seen it, doesn't Sakura kind of remind you of Kaoru?

**…tankoubun of the recent volume of "HunterXHunter"**: This is a really great and intriguing manga series by Takeuchi Naoko's husband, Yoshihiro Togashi. He's widely known for his popular series, **YuYu Hakusho** that Cartoon Network is planning on showing. HunterXHunter is so different from YuYu Hakusho, especially the artwork. The story is also more light hearted then YuYu Hakusho though we do have our psycho killers and scary short people who can kill without regret. A lot of decapitation and cuts up body parts are found within this series too. I love Gon and Killua; their interactions with each other are so funny.

**It's a psychic scar**: The scar and the scene that Rei sees come from the episode in RK when Megumi was about to commit suicide for making poisoned opium and Sano stops her by grabbing her blade in his hand, cutting himself in the process. In this lifetime, Shin-chan carries a birthmark or a "psychic scar" of the event that happened in his past life.

Author's Notes:

Like I've said before, I was planning on writing more for this chapter but I felt that I should release it as soon as I could. Wow, it's been along time, ne? Gomen ne minna-san. I've been super busy and my computer broke down on me earlier so that's another reason I couldn't write. My schedule is a bit hectic this semester but I want you guys to know that I will continue to write this series but please be prepared for times when I don't post anything for a while. As for those who miss Ryu-chan, don't worry he has a huge part in the next chapter of this story though I'm not sure when that'll be posted. Ah well, keep your eyes out.

Hime

2/25/02

revised 4/17/02


	8. Chapter 8

Okay, who here was upset by the second RK OVA ending? raises her hand in the air Dammit, why did they have to do it, hun? What has SONY got against our favorite red-haired sword master and his cute landlady? growls They just should have done the Jinchu arc…

Come What May--A Sailor Moon/Rurouni Kenshin Crossover Fanfiction

DISCLAIMER: Characters do not belong to me; they belong to Takeuchi Naoko-sama and Nobuhiro Watsuki-sama (Aren't those two just wonderful?).

I'm setting this story in the Sailor Moon anime continuity (with a hint of the manga), one year after the Sailor Moon Sailor Stars Season. Usagi and the Inner Senshi are 17 year olds and Mamoru is 23 years old. For the Rurouni Kenshin part of the story, I'm using the anime until just after the "Kyoto Arc" and then I switch to the manga for the "Revenge Arc". As always, if you are unfamiliar with any of these two animes, be prepared for some spoilage, light or otherwise.

Chapter 8

By: Hime

* * *

"Some love lasts a lifetime. True love lasts forever."

-Unknown

* * *

"As the soldier or wisdom, it's my duty to make sure that Shinnosuke-san passes his entrance exams." Ami exclaimed to no one in particular. The rest of the girls ignored her and instead continued grilling Usagi.

"So how do you know him anyway?" Minako was looking expectantly into Usagi's face. "And where can one get more of him?"

Usagi laughed, Makoto joining her. Even Ami was distracted from her plans at Usagi's joyful laughter. Only Rei was quiet as she watched everyone else, especially Usagi.

"Um, well he's a friend of the family that I'm going to baby-sit for."

"Baby-sit?" Rei exclaimed, surprised out of her wariness.

"Why does everyone repeat that when I say it?" Usagi whined.

"Because who would trust you to look after their kids?"

"That's what I asked." Minako butted in with a smile.

"You know, I took care of Chibi-chibi when she stayed with me. And I had to look after Shingo a number of times." Usagi argued.

"Whatever." Rei dismissed Usagi's claim of responsibility, "Who're you babysitting?"

"I'm going to look after two of Mamo-chan's kendo students."

"So that's how you know their father."

"Un."

Rei nodded to herself and fell silent again. Usagi looked at her friend with curiosity. "Is something wrong?"

"Why does anything have to be wrong if I'm quiet?"

Minako opened her mouth when Makoto nudged her as if to say, 'Don't say anything.'

"Well as long as nothing's wrong." Usagi smiled at Rei. Rei looked at Usagi and shook her head before giving her friend a gentle smile.

"Oh," Minako exclaimed as she noticed the time on Rei's bedside clock, "Study session's over. Time seemed to pass by quickly today, didn't it?"

"That's because you were too busy drooling over Shinnosuke." Rei commented dryly.

Minako rolled her eyes at her friend as she began to gather her notebooks together. Usagi quickly used her arm to sweep all her things into her briefcase before hurrying to her feet and making for the door. She slid the shoji screen open, letting in the strong afternoon sunlight that illuminated her form. As Minako looked at Usagi's silhouette, a strange haze filled her eyes, making everything but her friend's outlined form become misty. From Usagi's body, there appeared to be two glowing strings leading out into the world. Wait, not strings, more thin, something like thread. With a strange feeling of detachment, Minako noticed that the thread made no shadow and Usagi herself seemed to not notice them as she began to put on her shoes. Sluggishly, Minako turned her head to look around her, to see if anyone else could also see what she was seeing, but no one looked amazed or alarmed in the least. And then with heavy lashes, Minako blinked her eyes and the strange feeling that came over her vanished. With clear eyes Minako stared in fascination at her blonde friend but she saw no traces of her earlier vision. 'What the hell was that all about?' she questioned herself breathlessly.

"Earth to Minako. Come in Minako-chan." A hand waved in front of her face and without thought, Minako gave a small yelp and fell over backwards in surprise, hitting her head on the Rei's floor table.

"Oww…" Minako whined, her hands clutching the back of her head.

"Are you alright, Minako-chan?" Usagi asked, rushing from her position at the door to kneel beside her friend on the floor.

Minako looked at Usagi, squinting in an effort to see those threads again, but all she did was make her head hurt even more. Waving her hand, Minako said, "I'm fine, I'm fine."

"It's not bleeding. But it does look like you'll be getting a lump though." Ami said as she checked Minako's scalp. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

"You have to be more careful, Minako-chan." Makoto said to her friend as she leaned towards her with concern. "Do you think you'll need help home?"

"I'm alright! I've gotten worse hits in volleyball practice."

"That's true. Do you remember the time she was drooling over Yamagata-kun from third period and the ball smacked her in the face?" Makoto turned to Ami to comment.

"Mako-chan!" Minako sat up and yelled in dismay.

"She's alright now." Makoto said in quiet satisfaction. The rest of the girls giggled while Minako gave the tall brunette a dirty look.

"Well if you're alright, I have to go now. I told Mama I would clean my room when I was finished with our study group."

"Clean your room!" Minako said loudly before clutching her head in slight pain.

"Yes, I told Mama I would so I have to go and do it." The rest of the girls looked at Usagi in some amazement but Usagi ignored it and smiled at them happily. "Well, I'm off then." She gave them a wave and turned back toward the door.

"Ah!" At Rei's startled yell, Usagi turned back to look at her friend.

With an accusing finger pointed in Usagi's direction, Rei yelled, "You're wearing your shoes in my room!"

* * *

About fifteen minutes later, Minako was lying on her bed with an icepack under her head. 'Hmm, well sometimes Mom's not so bad.' She thought to herself. When she had come home telling of her accident, her mother had sent Minako straight to bed with an icepack, even though it was around four in the afternoon, with strict orders that if Minako needed anything, just to call out for her mother. 'Probably bored to death with dad on his business trip that she wants to mother me to keep busy.' But Minako wasn't put off by her thoughts. She just sighed with content as she took a drink out of the cup of juice her mother had just given her when a white cat jumped onto the bed, jarring her.

"Hey watch it! I almost spilt." It was really interesting to see a cat roll its eyes. Minako sat up, put her drink down, and gave the cat a measuring look. Artemis grew a bit alarmed at his charges perusal of him.

"What?"

"Something weird happened today. Something weird with me and Usagi."

At Usagi's name, a black cat jumped onto the bed as well. "What, what happened?" The black cat was extremely worried.

"Calm down, Luna. Nothing bad. Well I don't think it was bad, I mean…really how bad could—"

"Minako!" Both cats yelled at the same time.

"Alright, alright! Geez. But let me finish before you start asking anymore questions alright?" Both cats nodded to her. Minako almost smiled when she saw the white cat's tail drift protectively around the black cat. 'He has it so bad for her.' Even though Luna was now staying with Minako and Artemis because she got into a fight with Usagi, he was still happy to have her around.

"Okay, so I was at Rei-chan's today and when Usagi was standing in the doorway, when something funny came over me. I saw something like a thread coming from Usagi and going to who-knows-where. I looked to see if anyone else could see but it seemed like it was only me. Usagi didn't even seem to notice anything attached to her so I wondered what was I seeing."

The two cat's looked at each other for a moment before smiling, Artemis with pride and Luna with relief. "It was nothing for you to worry about, Minako-chan. What happened was a growth in your natural powers." Artemis said with a wide kitty grin.

"Hun?"

"Let me explain. As you get more experienced with your powers, you will begin to no longer need to transform to access your powers and abilities. You being able to see that thread is proof that you are becoming more and more like your former self as a Senshi of the Silver Millennium."

"Hun?"

Artemis sighed before starting again. "Okay, you see in your last life, you never needed to transform in Sailor Venus to use your powers because eyou always was Venus. Even when not in your uniform, you could still shoot off your laser or have your love-chain appear. It's only in this lifetime that you need to transform to use your powers because now you are human. But as you acquire more experience fighting and such, you will start to revert back to your last lifetime. What you saw today is an example of what's to come." Artemis then gave another proud grin. "It's no surprised you're the first of the Senshi to get a new power and be able to us your ability in your civilian form. You have been a Senshi longer then the rest of them. Eventually you will not need to transform to use all your powers." Then Artemis lost his grin as a frown settled on his face. "But I think you're starting too early. This should have happened years into the future. I can't understand why you would start now."

"Perhaps," Luna butted in, "this is because of all the battles the Senshi had to fight for four straight years, five if you count the year they had to relive."

"So it's like I'm in an RPG? The more battles we have, the more experience points I get, and the more experience points I get the more I level up as a warrior?"

Luna sweatdropped at this remark but Artemis, used to her remarks, just nodded.

Minako's reaction was succinct and to the point. "Cool." She thought about what happened today and asked, "Okay but what was that new ability I just gained?"

Artemis smiled and said, "Strong emotions, like love and hate, leave a trace of themselves. As the Senshi of Love, what you just saw was the thread of love. You have the ability now to see a person's thread that connects them to their soul mate."

Minako's face fell a little and she gave a little pout. "What's wrong, Minako-chan?" Artemis asked.

"I thought a new power would be a bit more cooler. You know, like a new energy missile or something like that."

After Artemis recovered, he shouted, "You're the Senshi of Love, not the Senshi of Firearms!"

Minako gave a flippant wave to her cat and fell back on her bed to lie down once more. 'Hm, threads of love, hun?' She smiled happily to herself before a thought wiped it off her face. 'Wait a second; Usagi had two threads coming from her. If one is suppose to be connected to Mamoru-san, then who's the other thread connected to?'

* * *

"ACHOO!" Ryu sneezed right onto his notes. He sniffled a couple of times and looked down at his yellow pad with some disgust. 'That sneeze came out of nowhere. I better not be coming down with anything, I have too much things to do to get sick. I better have Chagashi-san give me orange juice in the morning instead of coffee for the next few days.' As if his secretary could read his thoughts, Chagashi-san poked her head into his office.

"Ryu? You did say you wanted to get to the bank before it closes, didn't you?"

Ryu took a quick glance at the clock on the wall before standing up so fast that he knocked his chair over. "Yes! I did have to get to the bank. Thank you for reminding me."

"Hey, that's what you're ever efficient secretary is for. Now remember that when it's time to give me my raise." She gave him a smart salute and left him to clean up.

Soon enough, Ryu was on his way, an umbrella swinging off his arm as he walked with hurried steps to his bank. It had been raining unpredictably recently and last time he had been caught in a downpour. Now he was prepared for any rain that would come his way.

With a quicker gait, Ryu reached the door of the bank in time to see one of the employees start to lock it. With pleading eyes and hands, the worker laughed and with a wide gesture, opened the door for Ryu. With effusive thanks, Ryu ran in and went to get a deposit slip from the holders placed along the wall. Still laughing over Ryu's display, the employee was about to lock the door once more when three men wearing ski masks over their heads and clad entirely in black shoved their way into the almost deserted bank, grabbing the worker as a hostage. All three displayed impressive shotguns, something quite illegal for them to have, though it didn't seem to bother them at all.

In a calm voice, the man at the front said, "Everyone, put your hands in the air. This is a stickup."

* * *

"Can I go home now?" Ryu asked patiently, a blanket draped over his shoulders like a cape. The paramedics had given him one even though he hadn't been hurt or cold, mumbling something about shock. In fact, no one had been hurt except for those three who had tried to rob the bank.

The uniformed policeman gave Ryu a blank gaze and saw the blanket before realizing that the man asking the question must be one of the witnesses to the whole event. "I'm sorry sir, but could you stay for a little longer? We need to ask you a few more questions on what just happ—Hey you! Yeah you! Don't cross the yellow line!" And with that, the police officer went to deal with a crowd of curious onlookers. Ryu hung his head and sighed. It felt so good; he did it one more time. Suddenly a pair of black dress shoes entered his line of vision. 'Hopefully I can just answer his question and go home already.' Ryu frowned. 'Hmph, they didn't even let me call the twins to let them know why I'm not home yet.'

"Are you sulking?"

Ryu's eyes widened. 'Oh no, it can't be.' He thought to himself even as he inhaled some cigarette smoke. Quickly, he brought his head up to look at the man standing before him. White collared shirt, crisp black pants, a matching black jacket, and a cigarette in his mouth. The man's golden eyes watched with calm amusement as Ryu's pupils dilated with shock.

"Hello Battousai. What kind of trouble did you get into now?"

* * *

Author's Notes:

MWAHAHAHAHAHA! (calms down as her cat starts to run away) Ahem. Well I hope those who have been waiting for this chapter enjoyed it. I hope to have another chapter out before August, but we'll see how it goes. Don't you just get a kick out of Saitou? And if you haven't figured out that Saitou was the one who gave Ryu such a shock, sorry. Then again, how could you guys not know it was Saitou? Saitou isn't my favorite character but his interactions with the rest of the Kenshin-gumi are hilarious! You should see the scene in which he and Ryu are talking and—then again, why not just what until the next chapter to read what happens. Heeheehee, I'm such a tease…

Notes:

**Just a note about the Banks in Japan**: Actually from what I know, banks are usually closed on Saturdays in Japan but in my story I needed the bank to be open so it is.

**"You're wearing your shoes in my room!"**: Just for those who didn't know or were confused by this line, in Japan, it's customary to take one's shoes off before entering the person's home. Or there's a spot right inside the entryway where you can take your shoes off and store them somewhere. It's the same in Hawai'i because of the heavy Asian influence here. Seriously, we make you take your shoes off before coming into our homes, which I think makes a lot more sense then stepping onto our nice carpet with your dirty shoes, but I digress…

**Battousai**: Kenshin's shortened nickname of "Hitokiri Battousai". He acquired the nickname during the revolution when he was employed as an assassin. "Hitokiri" means person cutter (roughly) or manslayer. The "Battousai" is for the type of sword style he used to do the killing. During the series, Saitou always calls Kenshin "Battousai".

Hime

5/23/2002


	9. Chapter 9

**marstanuki**: Well you don't have to worry about Rei being the incarnation of Megumi because Yanagi is Megumi. As for Usagi being a fountain of "dumbness" (and I'm sure you meant that in the nicest way possible), we all know she's not that smart, but she's not a complete idiot either. I personally think the reason she gets those grades is because she's extremely lazy shrug. The thing is, that while Kaoru knew a lot about fighting (Watsuki-sama used Kaoru a lot of times to explain what was happening during a fight and why it was possible to do those moves that you see or read), she had that knowledge because she ran a dojo and was a teacher of a fighting art. In other areas of her life, Kaoru has no clues at all…Come What May--A Sailor Moon/Rurouni Kenshin Crossover Fanfiction

DISCLAIMER: Characters do not belong to me; they belong to Takeuchi Naoko-sama and Nobuhiro Watsuki-sama (Aren't those two just wonderful?).

I'm setting this story in the Sailor Moon anime continuity (with a hint of the manga), one year after the Sailor Moon Sailor Stars Season. Usagi and the Inner Senshi are 17 year olds and Mamoru is 23 years old. For the Rurouni Kenshin part of the story, I'm using the anime until just after the "Kyoto Arc" and then I switch to the manga for the "Revenge Arc". As always, if you are unfamiliar with any of these two animes, be prepared for some spoilage, light or otherwise.

Chapter 9

By: Hime

* * *

"Some love lasts a lifetime. True love lasts forever."

-Unknown

* * *

"What, wolf got your tongue?" The man in front of Ryu remarked, throwing his cigarette to the ground, before crushing it out with his foot.

In shock, the blanket fell away from Ryu's shoulders to land in a heap at his feet. "It's illegal to liter." Still agog at the man before him, Ryu automatically said whatever came to his mind.

"You never were this stupid back then. I see easy living has dulled your wits."

Finally snapping out of his surprise, Ryu shook his head in disbelief. "Saitou."

"Ah, the names not Saitou anymore, Battousai. I'm called Ookamino Seigi in this lifetime. Lieutenant Ookami Seigi."

"Justice of the wolf."

"How fitting my name is in this lifetime." Seigi continued on, chatting with Ryu as if they were old friends instead of the blood enemies they had been centuries ago. "So Battousai, what kind of trouble are you in now?" He asked again.

"Why do you continue to call me Battousai when that's not my name." Ryu asked with some annoyance.

Seigi smirked at the irritated man in front of him. It seemed that his temper was shorter in this lifetime then in his last. "Because a Battousai will always be a Battousai."

"But I'm not the Battousai, not anymore. You said so in your other lifetime, remember?"

"Oh, I remember." Seigi shrugged his shoulders before continuing, "But I just wanted to give you an easy out. I was being nice."

Ryu snorted. "You, be nice? Yeah, right."

With his eyebrow quirked, Seigi said, "Well it doesn't matter if you believe me or not."

'Well I don't.' Ryu thought to himself, looking at the man in front of him. "My name is Kohakume Ryu."

"I know."

'Grr.' Ryu felt his teeth grind together before he asked, "How do you know my name?"

"When you won that big case against the Mitsubishi Corporation, you're name and face were on all the papers and news stations around town. How could I not know it was you? I committed it to memory because I knew one day we would see each other again. And today I get a call about a foiled bank robbery and here you are. It's enough to make one believe in destiny."

Ryu snorted. "And you believe in destiny?"

"'There are more things in heaven and hell, Horatio, than are dreampt in your philosophy.' Shakespeare."

"I know the quote was from Shakespeare. I'm not an idiot."

"You could have fooled me." Reaching into his pocket, Seigi pulled out a box of cigarettes and his silver lighter. With a practiced flick of his wrist, a cigarette popped out from the hole on the top. Seeing as his hands were full, he lipped the cigarette before putting the package back into his pocket. Cupping his hand around the flame, he brought it to his mouth and lit his cigarette. Inhaling deeply, he let the rich smoke fill his lungs before breathing back into the air.

"That's disgusting." Ryu had a frown on his face as he waved the smoke away from himself.

"So's your face. Do I make comments about it?"

His eye's now in narrow slits, Ryu just shot the man a killing glare. Ignoring the look, Seigi reached back into his coat to pull out a small, black notebook, with a pen sticking through the wire hoops that held the book together. He flipped it open and thumbed through the book until he found a clean page. "Well, let's hear what happened then."

"Don't tell me you're primary on this case."

"I don't have to tell you anything. It's you who has to do the talking."

"But you're a Lieutenant. You wouldn't be stuck closing a small case like a failed robbery attempt. There has to be something more to this, something bigger."

Seigi gave Ryu a hooded look. "Give me your story first and we'll see what you need to know."

Now Ryu was curious. What was so special about this robbery that the police department would send a Lieutenant to close it up? There was no way for him to know unless he did as Seigi asked. Taking deep breath he said, "Well, I had just gotten in the bank when those three guys muscled their way in and said—"

* * *

"Everyone, put your hands in the air. This is a stickup."

Everyone in the bank froze, not knowing what to do in a situation like this. Even Ryu froze where he was, his ink pen leaving a blotch on his deposit slip as he left the tip to rest there on the paper.

"Hands in the air!" This time the order was given in a shout and now people began to do as they were told, either with great speed, afraid they were going to be shot, or slowly, afraid they were going to be shot. Ryu slid his hands in the air slowly, until his palms were parallel with his ears. The handle of his umbrella came to rest on his biceps, swinging back in forth as silence filled the room.

Satisfied, robber #1, Ryu had decided to call him that as he seemed to be the one in charge, stepped forward and pointed at the vault with his gun. "Who can open the vault?"

"I-I-I can." A man stepped forward, his hands trembling in the air. "Ah, I'm the bank manager. Please, don't hurt anyone."

Robber #2 stepped forward now and said, "We won't hurt anyone unless you give us trouble." Ryu noticed that both men spoke Japanese they had spoken with an interesting accent. With a nod, the bank manager walked as quickly as he could to the locked vault and began the combination. The door opened with a 'click' filling the quiet room with the sound. The bank manager entered first and then the first two robbers. The last stood with his hostage and kept a close watch on everyone else.

"Ple-please let me go. I don't want to die." The young woman was whimpering in fear, her eyes arrested to the large shotgun in her captor's hand.

"Just shut-up and you won't get hurt."

But the woman was getting more agitated, Ryu could tell from the look in her wide eyes. She began to shake in her panic and Ryu began to fear that she would try to escape from the man's hold, which would lead to definite trouble. Perhaps even violence.

"Stop moving!" Robber #3 shouted at the woman and she cringed in his hold as if she would be struck. But she couldn't stop herself from shaking and now that his attention was focused on her, her shaking got even stronger. When the robber brought up his gun and aimed the end at her skull, Ryu moved. He dropped his hands, letting his umbrella clatter to the ground before kicking it into the man's shin. Surprised by the noise and by the sharp pain he registered in his shin, the robber let go of the woman though he never let go of his gun. Moving faster then he had in this lifetime, Ryu used that brief moment to get in front of the guy and shoved his forearm into the man's throat, bruising the windpipe so he couldn't give a warning to his associates. Now in deep pain, the robber let go of his gun to clasp his aching throat, which Ryu caught. With a quick and precise movement, Ryu brought the gun up and hit the man in the head, knocking him unconscious. He looked around and saw that everyone was watching him with astonished eyes but no one had let out a sound. Probably to stunned and scared to do so. He put a finger to his lips in the universal sign of "shhh" and waved to the man with the security uniform to him.

"Yes?" the young man whispered in slight awe.

Frowning at the admiration he heard in the man's voice, Ryu gave him the shotgun and said, "As they come out of the vault, I'll grab the first one and you keep the gun on the second." The young man nodded and carefully picked his way to the vault. After picking up his umbrella, Ryu followed the young man's lead. Stationed on both sides, they waited until they heard footsteps. Ryu watched the floor of the open door, keeping a lookout for a man's shadow. Spotting it, he waited as the shadow looked to lean to be one of the robbers. The bank manager walked out first, not even noticing the two people waiting by the door. With a quick yank, Ryu grabbed the next man that walked out, using the momentum to swing him head first into the wall. Stunned but not out, Ryu now used his umbrella on the robbers head and winced when he heard the 'crack'. Turning, he saw the other robber with his hands up, the shotgun still in his hands. Ryu walked slowly to the armed robber and took the gun away from him.

Satisfied. Ryu turned to the crowd and said, "Would someone be so kind as to call the police?"

A gasp from the people in front had Ryu turning around to see what had happened. He found himself watching as the robber struggled for the shotgun with the security guard.

Finally yanking it from the young man and hitting him to the ground, the robber whipped around to aim it at the small redhead that was standing in front of him. To his surprise, the redhead was gone.

"Hiten Mitsurugi RyuTsui Sen!" A call cried out from above. As quickly as he could, the man turned his head up and was rewarded to see the redhead flying toward him. With a crunch, Ryu whipped the shotgun he held down onto the robbers shoulder, bringing the two to the ground. The two bodies stayed there for a moment, before the small redhead stood up slowly, as if in great pain, using the shotgun as a crutch.

"The police are coming." The young woman he had saved from being hit came up to him, offering her hand to him, which he refused with a small smile. "That was amazing. Thank you."

"There's no need to thank me. I didn't do anything." Ryu turned away to see that some of the other people had formed a small cluster around the security guard, checking to see if the man was all right. Hearing sirens, Ryu smiled in relief. Minutes later the doors burst open and police flooded in. Quickly, the group surrounded Ryu, pointing their guns in his directions.

"Drop the gun and put your hands in the air!"

"Oro!"

* * *

Seigi laughed so hard, his stomach hurt. Ryu gave him a glare. "I wish you would stop laughing."

"I wish I had been there to see it." Seigi said, his laughter subsiding enough for him to get his sentence out.

"Since I told you what happened, will you tell me now how this involves you?"

All signs of amusement were wiped clean from Seigi's face. He stared long and hard at Ryu, as if trying to decide whether or not to tell him anything. Finally he said, "Do you know about the White Tiger syndicate?"

"Aren't they that gang that's been in the news lately?"

"Yes. The White Tigers is a new yakuza organization from Hong Kong. Lately, they've been doing a number of operations here in Tokyo. Those three are members."

"Members?" Remembering the weird accent he heard from all of the robbers, Ryu nodded his head in understanding. 'They all had Chinese accents.'

"When the on-duty police saw a white tiger tattoo on all of the three, they called me."

"Ah. So that's why you're here."

"It's my job to break the organization up."

"But those three are on the lower rungs of the group, aren't they?"

"Yes. But with the White Tigers, if any of their members go to prison, they lose face. By using those three as bait, I hope to lure more of them into my hands."

"But what would they do to get their members out of trouble? I mean you have a room full of witnesses. There's no way for those three to get out of a guilty verdit."

"Yes, but witnesses have a way of changing their stories or disappearing." Seigi looked at Ryu with calm eyes.

"Oh, I see. That's why you decided to talk to me."

"Yes, I need you as a witness. I'm sure that those other people will recant and if they don't, they'll disappear. You on the other hand—"

"Won't go back on my statement and won't need to worry about not being able to take care of myself. But you're wrong. I have two children to worry about. They might come after my sons."

"Your two adopted sons."

"Just because they're adopted, does not make them any less my children."

"Especially when they are children from that lifetime." At Ryu's startled glance, Seigi gave a smirk and said, "Like I wouldn't be able to tell that one is that brat who kept falling you around and the other was the boy you saved from that Raijuuta person."

"How the hell do you know?" Ryu was truly angry now, his eyes glittering with tiny specks of amber. With an automatic gesture, Ryu reached at his hip, the spot where the hilt of his sword would be if he had worn one. With a surprised gasp, he shook his head and said, "I don't know why I did that."

"Of course you do. You felt that I had threatened or would threaten your little family, so you were going to see that I wouldn't." Seigi's voice was calm and he reached into his pocket for another cigarette.

"But I reached for my sword, something I have never worn in this lifetime, or in any other since then." Ryu was still upset, worried that that one move was telling him that in truth he would never be able to be escape the presence of the "Hitokiri".

"I suspect it's because I'm here." Inhaling deeply, Seigi let the smoke coat his lungs before letting it escape into the late afternoon air. "And just to let you know, my son goes to the same kendo class as your sons. It was easy to see them there."

Now surprised over a different manner, Ryu asked, "You have a son?"

Seigi showed a bit of irritation as he answered. "Yes, I have a son. Why does that surprise you?"

"I don't know. It just does. I guess I can't see you as a father."

"Well I am. I've been so for thirteen years now."

"Ah. So you're married then."

"Of course I am." For the first time since this conversation had started, Seigi was the one not having fun. "You can't see me as a husband either?"

"I couldn't see you as husband in that lifetime, how am I suppose to see you as a husband in this one?" Ryu gave a polite smile, one he knew would irritate the wolf as it had done centuries ago.

It did irritate Seigi, enough so that he gave a small growl. He narrowed his eyes at Ryu and said, "I'll have you know that I've been married to Tokio in all my lives since that one in the Meiji era. This is my third lifetime with her by my side."

'Three lifetimes.' Ryu thought to himself with jealousy as he looked at the man in front of him. 'What did he do to deserve the happiness of three lifetimes with the woman he loves.' And there was no doubt that Seigi loved his wife. Much like the wolf he was named after, he would mate for life. 'Don't I deserve the same happiness?'

"Speaking of which, where is that little raccoon-girl that managed to terrorize you into marrying her? I figured you would have found her by now."

"I—" Ryu was interrupted by a bright, high-pitched voice.

"Ryu! Ryu, over here!"

Both men turned to the voice and saw a small blonde girl, dressed in the Juuban High Scholl uniform, bouncing up and down behind the yellow line set to keep bystanders out of the crime scene.

"Who the hell is that?" Seigi turned to look at Ryu and saw the glow come to the other man's eyes. "Don't tell me that's the little raccoon-girl." Seigi said, his cigarette looking ready to fall out of his slack mouth.

Ryu sighed and watched as Usagi looked around and then ducked under the line, running to the two of them. A man in uniform began running after her, shouting at her to get back behind the line. Seigi caught the man's eye and shook his head at him, allowing the little blonde to reach them.

"Hi Ryu. Are you in trouble?"

"No, I'm not. Usagi, I would like to introduce you to Lieutenant Ookami Seigi. Lieutenant Ookami, this is Tsukino Usagi."

The two looked at each other with fairly curious eyes. Finally, Usagi opened her mouth and said, "I know you, don't I? You're from that other lifetime right?"

Seigi looked at Usagi, his eyebrow going up in slight surprise. "Yes, we knew each other back then."

"I knew it. I remember those eyes." She was staring back at Seigi with a serious expression. "Who were you again?"

Seigi almost lost his cigarette before he caught hold of himself.

Ryu laughed. "He was someone we knew, that's all. No one important." Seigi shot Ryu a look over Usagi's head. "I think you should be going home now."

"Oh, I was on my way home when I saw you here chatting," Seigi smirked at the word "chatting" but didn't say anything, "and I was curious why you were with all these police officers."

When Ryu didn't answer her, Seigi took it upon himself to do so. "Tsukino-san, Ryu was talking to me so I could get his statement. It turns out he stopped a bank robbery all by himself."

Turning to Ryu with excitement in her eyes, Usagi said, "That-that's amazing! You stopped a bank robbery all by yourself? That's so cool! Wow, you're really strong in this lifetime too!"

"I didn't do it all by myself." Ryu said with modesty.

Seigi rolled his eyes at the two of them. "Ryu is right. You should go home now. Ryu and I have much to talk about."

"Oh, of course." She gave them both a big smile and then turned to Ryu. "I'll see you on Monday, alright?" and she ran off to the sidewalk, turning to wave them goodbye. Ryu had a smile on his face as he waved back to her.

"She didn't seem like such an idiot in that other life then she does now."

"Usagi is not an idiot. She's just more free with her emotions."

"Oh, and she was really reserved back then too." Seigi deadpanned.

Ryu just shrugged. He knew that Usagi wasn't stupid; it's just that this life was much kinder to her. She had both her parents and she didn't need to worry about making a living or preserving and lengthening her father's legacy.

"So you did manage to find the little raccoon-girl after all. Though I suppose she should be called rabbit-girl now. I hope I don't have to remind you that in that lifetime, it was alright to marry someone so young, but today it's against the law."

Ryu gave him a frown. "I'm a lawyer, of course I know the law. I don't need you to recite it for me. Usagi's seventeen by the way."

"Ah, so she's not jailbait. You're just robbing the cradle."

"Just shut-up."

"Was she always younger then you in your other lifetimes?" Seigi waited for his answer, a good insult on the tip of his tongue.

"This is the first time I've been reunited with her since that life in the Meiji era."

"Are you serious?"

"Do you think I would joke about something like that?" Ryu answer was short, his temper getting a hold on him. He took some deep breaths, hoping that would help cool him off.

Seigi looked at him and wondered how that could be. Was he really that stupid that he just didn't find her in those other lifetimes? "So now that you've found her again, what are you going to do?" As soon as the question left his mouth, Seigi wanted to slap himself. 'I can't believe I'm discussing Battousasi's love life! Or his non-existent one anyway.'

"Nothing, but be her friend. She has a fiancé in this life." Ryu said with a grim look in his eyes.

"How can she be engaged to anyone at seventeen? What, she's going to marry some puppy her age?"

Ryu gritted his teeth before answering, "Her fiancé is Chiba Mamoru. Our son's kendo instructor."

"Chiba Mamoru, hun?" Seigi's voice trailed off in thought.

"What about him?" Ryu voice was somewhat sharp as he asked his question.

"Last year, Chiba disappeared from a crowded airplane, before it left the runway."

"What do you mean, disappeared?"

"Exactly what I said. Gone, vanished, not there anymore. Then a couple of months later he shows up saying he had no idea what had happened to him."

"So what happened?"

"Nothing. He had no information and we had nothing to go on. We let the case drop."

"But you believe that there's more."

Seigi smirked around his cigarette. "There's always something more."

An idea came to Ryu. "That's why you signed your son up to learn kendo from him. You wanted a chance to keep an eye on him."

Seigi shrugged casually. "Well my child needed to learn and he's a pretty good teacher. Not as good as I would be, but I needed the cover."

"I can't believe you would use your child like that."

"He's in no danger and he likes kendo. It's a win-win situation." Seigi turned from Ryu and began to walk away.

"Hey wait a minute! Where are you going?" Ryu called out.

"What now? You want to go out for a drink? I'm on the clock, I have work to do, don't bother me." Seigi stopped to look at Ryu and made a shooing motion. "Go home to your kids." Turning his back once more, Seigi took a few more steps away before he stopped to say, "And don't forget to return the blanket you dropped to the paramedics. That's state property you know." And with that, he sauntered away from Ryu.

With a slightly confused expression on his face, Ryu stood there for a moment. He had just come face to face with one of his most bloodthirsty enemies from that lifetime. And they hadn't tried to kill each other. They actually had a conversation, or at least something that could pass for one considering who Ryu had been talking too. Ryu shook his head in slight bemusement. 'More then heaven and hell, hun?'

Ryu bent to pick up the blanket he had carelessly let fall to the ground. He would return it and then he would go home to his kids. It had been an eventful day and he was beginning to feel the bruises he would be showing the next day. He hadn't needed to use any of the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu techniques in lifetimes and he was dreadfully out of shape. 'Too bad Shishou wasn't here.' Ryu thought to himself. 'I could really use his training now. I wonder how much longer he'll be in America?'

* * *

The sleek black Porsche drove through the crowded streets with hardly a sound. Inside the car, everything was black leather and pure elegance. Mozart played from the six speakers that were hidden throughout the car interior. Stopping with the traffic jam as people curiously drove past just to see what was happening with all the police cars and ambulances, the man in the black car casually looked out through his darkly tinted window. A strong hand rested on the handle of the gearshift, the other had control of the wheel. Dark turquoise-blue eyes stared with cold fire at the scene he saw. 'Stupid idiots, no one told you to rob that bank.' His hand briefly clenched in anger around the steering wheel before he willed himself to let go. There was no use in showing his anger on inanimate objects. That wouldn't solve anything. It would be better to focus his energies on making sure those three fools didn't make the White Tigers lose anymore face in Asia. First thing first, get those three out of jail and then punish them. The White Tigers were very good at punishing those in disfavor. In fact, those three would rather go to prison then face the leaders of the White Tigers. In jail they had a chance to keep their lives, not to mention their other body parts that the White Tigers would remove from them before they killed the three as brutally as possible. The man smiled coldly at the thought and continued to inch his way down the street. 'Yes, first things first. Let's see what happens when the police don't have their witnesses anymore.' Standard practice with the White Tigers, if no one saw what happened who's to say it actually occurred.

Finally getting away from the traffic, he continued driving toward his home, a mansion, really. Business had been very good in Japan. This town was so weak, the criminal element just rolled over for the White Tigers, whimpering about "Sailor Suited Warrior-Women" who defended Tokyo with strength and magic. He snorted with disgust. Warrior-women indeed. The only warriors that were left in today's society were those who had the strength to take what they wanted. And he was a warrior; there was no doubt about that. As one of the founding members of the White Tigers, he showed he was strong enough to get whatever he wanted. And what he wanted most was the world.

* * *

Author's Notes:

This was a really fun chapter to write. I can't wait to have Seigi interact with Usagi some more…that should be even more fun. Anyway, I hoped you readers didn't think Seigi was too out of character. If you did, let me explain. First off, this isn't the Meiji Era anymore. His life has been, for the most part, violence free, well except for the violence he sees as a cop, but it's not the same as when he was part of the Shinsengumi. Also, he's had three other lifetimes in which to love Tokio and to grow and change as a person, though he does somewhat retain his "ahou" nature. And he's very, very happy the way his life is going at the moment. He has a wife, a son, and a job that he loves. If you think Ryu is acting OOC because he was actually somewhat rude to Seigi, just remember that he has learned about his own self-worth and he has lost that guilt he had in his other lifetime through the other lives he has lived. In this lifetime, he carries no scar to remind him of his darkest moment.

As for Hiko, sorry but he's not going to show up in this fic though his character does have a role in this story. Yes, he has been reincarnated and like I said above, his character is in America at the moment. Hey, if I actually had him appear, he would end up saving the day and where would that leave Ryu and the Sailor Senshi? And I hope you guys can guess whom I'm referring to at the end of this chapter. Well if you didn't guess, that's okay, you'll get to see some more of him soon enough.

Hime

6/30/02


	10. Chapter 10

**marstanuki: **You know what—Usagi is an idiot. I just get blinded by her other good qualities, that I sometimes gloss over the fact, but I shouldn't. No doubt about it, Usagi's a ditz, but we love her anyway…

**mika-chan:** Ryu remembered Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu from his past lifetime as Kenshin. He didn't learn the style again for the same reason he wouldn't teach the sword style to Yahiko.

**Heart Soul: **I'm glad you like that I don't bash Mamoru. I love Mamo-chan and I hate it when I red Fanfiction that bash him or the Inner Senshi for a plot device…

**Celestial DreamBlaze:** Well perhaps Seigi is going to use Ryu to spy on Mamoru…or perhaps he won't. I can't tell you. Sore wa himitsu desu.

Come What May--A Sailor Moon/Rurouni Kenshin Crossover Fanfiction

DISCLAIMER: Characters do not belong to me; they belong to Takeuchi Naoko-sama and Nobuhiro Watsuki-sama (Aren't those two just wonderful?).

I'm setting this story in the Sailor Moon anime continuity (with a hint of the manga), one year after the Sailor Moon Sailor Stars Season. Usagi and the Inner Senshi are 17 year olds and Mamoru is 23 years old. For the Rurouni Kenshin part of the story, I'm using the anime until just after the "Kyoto Arc" and then I switch to the manga for the "Revenge Arc". As always, if you are unfamiliar with any of these two animes, be prepared for some spoilage, light or otherwise.

Chapter 10

By: Hime

* * *

"Some love lasts a lifetime. True love lasts forever."

-Unknown

* * *

"You're late!" Ryu cringed as he tried to shut the front door quietly. He sighed to himself, I should have known they would be waiting to ambush me.'

"And you didn't call either!" Yaruki accused his father with delight. "You make us call if we're going to be late. As our father you should set a better example." Yaruki continued.

"Yaruki." Ryu said softly, but sternly.

"Dad." Yaruki answered back.

Whack. Yuuki smacked his brother from behind. "Don't be rude to dad." Yuuki admonished his brother, though he did look at his father with a disapproving glance.

Ryu sighed once more. The twins had a right to scold him. He was over three hours late. "I'm very sorry for being late and not calling. I do know better, but it slipped my mind to call. After talking to the police, I just wanted to get back to you two-"

"You were talking to the cops? What happened? Is Rooster-head in trouble again?" Yaruki asked eagerly. If Rooster-head was in trouble with the cops it must have been a good fight.

Ryu thought over what he was about to tell the twins. Years ago when he won that court case, he became famous throughout Tokyo. Because he became news, so did his sons. Both their lives were disrupted for months until the arrival of some sort of super heroine group that drew the attention of the media. By tomorrow, the story of the aborted bank robbery will be out, Saitou would make sure of it. The court case will be unearthed and my family will be hounded once more.' Worse, by doing this for Saitou, his family will be in danger, as the White Tiger Organization would target his weakness: his children.

"The reason I was late tonight was-" Shinnosuke entered the house, cutting off Ryu.

"Hi honey, I'm home. What's for dinner?" Shinnosuke quipped with a grin. At the look on everyone's faces, Shinnosuke asked, "Oi, what's wrong?"

"You are, you idiot! What did I tell you about entering this house as if you live here?" Yaruki yelled. "And shouldn't you be in jail right now? Oh wait, dad talked to the police so you must be on bail…bummer" Yaruki trailed off, shaking his head in disappointment.

"What do you mean I'm not in jail? Who said anything about me being in jail?"

"Never mind him Shinnosuke. Come over and sit down. There's something I need to tell you three." Ryu waved the young man over. With a careless shrug, Shinnosuke made his way over and plopped into an empty armchair. The room was quiet now, everyone with their eyes on Ryu.

"Okay, what I have to tell all of you is very important. There may be a possibility with danger but before I get into that-" Ryu cut himself off and took a deep breath. Unconsciously, the twins and Shinnosuke leaned forward; ready to respond to Ryu's words. "Maybe we should order some dinner." As if on cue, a gurgling sound could be heard coming from the redhead's stomach. Ryu smiled sheepishly before a flying barrage of pillows and cushions pelted him.

* * *

The house was quiet, now that Ryu had sent the twins up to their rooms for the night. He had no illusions that they would go to sleep anytime soon, but they were going to bed at their normal time. Ryu was determined to hold on to that schedule for as long as he could. It provided a type of comfort to him that he was loathe giving up.

"Ryu, I can't believe you did that." Shinnosuke said, repeating himself for the third time in ten minutes.

Ryu sighed absently. "Well it's done and now we have to deal with the consequences."

"And with the White Tigers no less." Shinnosuke all but moaned, sinking backwards into his chair.

That caught Ryu's attention. "What do you know about the White Tigers?"

"I heard some rumors of them on the street. They were recruiting or something like that." Shinnosuke snorted, "Like any Japanese with self-respect would ever work for some Hong Kong syndicate." At Ryu's impatient look, he continued, "I heard most about them from Mikage. He wrote an article on how they were bribing officials in the government."

Right," Ryu nodded as he thought out loud, "Mikage is still doing his online paper." He looked at Shinnosuke, his eyes dark and serious. "Do you think you can get some information about the White Tigers from him?"

"Yeah sure, of course."

"Thank you." Ryu said, the warmth in his eyes made Shinnosuke look away, a hint of color staining his cheeks. "Stupid. What are you thanking me for? I'm your friend, of course I'll help you out."

Ryu could tell he embarrassed his friend, so with a small smile he changed the subject. "By tomorrow, the story will be splashed on all the papers." Lieutenant Seiji will make sure of that. "I'll be home with the twins of course. Perhaps I'll keep them from school for a few days until most of the furor calms down." Ryu began pacing as he made his plans.

"How did you stop the robbery Ryu?" Shinnosuke's question stopped Ryu in mid-step. Turning around to face his friend, Ryu noticed that though Shinnosuke's posture was casual, his eyes were alert and watchful.

"What do you mean? I already told you all how I did it." Ryu smiled, innocence shining from his eyes.

"Cut the bullshit. How did you fight when you don't know how too?" Shinnosuke sat up, leaning forward in his chair. "What aren't you telling us?" Behind his serious expression, Ryu could sense Shinnosuke's hurt.

"I'm sorry." Finally sitting down, Ryu perched himself on the end of the couch closest to Shinnosuke's chair, angling himself to face his friend. "I know some fighting skills I learned years ago." Centuries ago. "What I didn't tell you earlier is that the police are using me as bait for the leaders of the White Tiger Organization."

"What? What the hell is the police thinking? Did they force you into it?"

"No, I agreed to do it."

"You did what? What the hell are _you_ thinking?" At Shinnosuke's angry shout, Ryu gave him a sharp glance and motioned with his head toward the stairs that led to the second floor and the bedrooms. Shinnosuke caught the hint and between clenched teeth said, "You could get you and your sons killed."

"I had to. This way, if they take the bait, the police can break up the group and they won't be able to cause anymore trouble or damage."

"You and your do-gooder constitution." Shinnosuke muttered under his breath.

Ryu blinked. "Do-gooder constitution?"

Shinnosuke looked away, a bit embarrassed and scratched his cheek idly. "Ami-san gave me a list of new vocabulary words." Shinnosuke turned to Ryu again. "I guess I'm not going to those study sessions or cram school for while." With a cocky grin, he shrugged. "Well at least I won't have to do anymore studying."

"But Shinnosuke, I can't ask you to do that. You need to pass the college entrance exam for your own future."

"The test is given every year. I can take it later if I have to. But the threat of the White Tigers is here upon us."

Ryu blinked mentally at the eloquence of Shinnosuke's response. I keep forgetting that he's much older this his years of life.' Ryu thought to himself. "If you're sure," Ryu paused and Shinnosuke gave a short nod, "then I'll be grateful for your help. I'll have to call Usagi of course-" Ryu cut himself off unexpectedly.

Not noticing Ryu's dismay, Shinnosuke nodded. "Yeah, you gotta let her know that I'll be looking after the brats for a while."

"I'll call her tomorrow," Ryu said finally. "It's too late to call tonight."

"If you say so," Shinnosuke shrugged his indifference. "Do you need me to stay over just in case?"

"Not tonight, but maybe in the future."

At this, Shinnosuke took it as the time to leave. "Okay then, I'll see you tomorrow then. Sleep well."

Ryu followed his friend to the door, "Good night Shinnosuke. Be careful." Shutting the door against the cool night air, Ryu leaned forward, his forehead resting against the cold, smooth wood. Why is it that when I finally find you once more, it feels as if fate is against me?'

* * *

Ryu almost spit out his entire mouthful of orange juice as he got a look at the front page of the newspaper the next morning. As it was, he did have to wipe the dribble that did come out before he turned his full attention to the paper in front of him.

"Bank Robbery Stopped." Read the headlines. The plan is now set in motion.' Sighing, Ryu continued reading and winced when the paper stated his full name and made mention of the court case he had won a few years ago. Continuing on, he shook his head. The reporter made him seem as if he were a saint. Tired of reading, Ryu folded the paper back to its original state. Looking at the photo the paper had used to accompany the story, Ryu frowned. They had to use the picture of me in the magenta suit, didn't they.'

* * *

"Usagi-chan, you're up early." Ikuko's voice was full of surprise. Shock even, as she came across her daughter pouring over the front page of the Sunday newspaper.

Usagi looked up from her reading and flashed her mom a smile. In reality, it was only ten in the morning, but for Usagi, anything before one in the afternoon was early.

"Look mama!" Usagi excitedly held the paper up with one hand and stabbed the photo repeatedly with the other.

"Yes I know. I read it this morning over breakfast. Isn't it such a coincidence that your employer has the same name as that lawyer?"

Usagi gave her mother a look before giggling. "They're the same person!"

Usagi's mother was stunned to say the least. "You-you are looking after that man's children? Why would he choose you?"

"Why does everyone keep saying that?" Usagi wailed, her hands over her eyes.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Ikuko grimaced as her daughter's wails became louder. "What happened to Luna?" She asked, trying to stop Usagi from crying. "I haven't seen her for awhile." Ikuko's plan worked almost instantly, Usagi stopped crying and turned her eyes to the paper again. As if taking a moment, Usagi closed her eyes and when she looked up, her eyes bright and shiny.

"Luna's with Artemis at Minako-chan's. She was missing his company. They're in love don't you know." Usagi whispered to her mother.

Ikuko pursed her lips in thought. "Hmm, if that's true, maybe we should have Luna neutered."

Usagi's eyes went wide in fear. "Oh no, you can't do that! Luna would pitch a fit!"

"Honey, it's not as if she would know. She's just a cat."

"Nope, no way. Not going to happen."

"But Usagi, what happens to all the kittens she ends up getting? Your father is not going to like having to feed more then one cat."

"Don't worry. Luna is only going to have one daughter. And it won't be for a long time."

Ikuko smiled at her daughter's earnest tone. "You sound so sure of yourself Usagi. How do you know that?"

Usagi paused, questioning herself on how she would know something like that as well. "I- I just do."

At Usagi's almost lost expression, Ikuko unconsciously went to her daughter, ready to comfort her oldest child, when the phone rang. Startled out of her thoughts, Ikuko went to answer the phone. "Hello, this is the Tsukino residence."

"Hello Tsukino-san. This is Kohakume Ryu." Ryu's voice vibrated through the line.

"Oh Kohakume-san! It's a pleasure to speak to you. I wanted to let you know that I saw the story about you stopping that robbery in the paper this morning. How amazing."

"Um, well thank you, but I was just in the right place at the right time." He paused before asking. "Is Usagi-san there? I need to speak to her."

"Why yes she is. Amazing too, since she normally never wakes up this early on Sunday." At her daughter's hissed "Mom," Ikuko gave Usagi a quick grin. "Please hold on for just a moment while I put her on."

Usagi grabbed the phone and held it to her ear. "Hello?"

"Usagi?"

Her smile faded. Something about the way he said my name…'

"Usagi, are you there?"

"Yes Ryu-san, I'm here." Behind her daughter, Ikuko raised an eyebrow at Usagi using the man's first name. Even with the added "san" title, there was something intimate in the sound of her daughter saying the first name of an older man she had just recently met. Why do I suddenly regret allowing her to work for Kohakume-san?'

"Usagi, I need to tell you something. I-you…I-I should have called you earlier, I should have called you last night." Ryu trailed off.

"What is it? What's wrong?"

"I'm taking back the job. You can't look after Yaruki and Yuuki at this time."

"What? Are you serious?"

At her daughter's urgent tone, Ikuko felt her apprehension rise. What happened?'

"Yes. Something serious has happened, something that doesn't involve you. I'll take care of it and…and after, we'll see-"

Usagi cut him off in mid-sentence when she slammed the phone on its receiver.

"Usagi what's wrong? Where are you going?" Ikuko followed her daughter as she headed for the front door. Not getting an answer, she grabbed Usagi's wrist just as her daughter was to leave, "Usagi, answer me."

Usagi looked down at the hand holding onto her, then faced the world outside. "I don't know, but I'm going to find out." Without force, Usagi simply pulled her wrist from her mother's grasp and Ikuko let her go without anymore fuss. Ikuko's eyes followed her daughter as long as she could before Usagi disappeared from her view. Ikuko went back into her home and gently closed the door, when she felt a drop of wetness fall onto her outstretched hand. Stunned, she reached up gingerly to find tears streaming down her face. Who am I crying for? Usagi or for me?'

* * *

Author's Notes:

Has anyone else noticed that there are a few more RK/SM crossovers these days? Probably because RK's now on Cartoon Network I guess…

I was watching "Rurouni Kenshin: Seisou Hen" OVA over the weekend. This is the second time I watched it and once more I'm struck by its harsh beauty. Not just in the style of drawing, but its story as well. And even the English dubbed version was beautifully done. But why was I watching the English version? What can I tell you, I like pain…I mean why else would I watch this over again when it gives me such a depressing outcome to one of my favorite stories…

But seeing it over, one can forget the shock of certain events and instead concentrate on other things. The OVA did end on a positive note with Kenshin's scar fading and Kenji and who I assume to be his wife walking away together into the sunset. One part that still irks me is that even when Kaoru and Kenshin are married, he still calls her "Kaoru-dono." Gah, made me upset just like it did the first time I saw it…

Hime

4/18/03


	11. Chapter 11

**ElberethUndomiel:** I can't just tell you what's going to happen…you just have to read to find out.

**The Masked Mistress: **Kenshin doesn't do the "de gozaru" thing anymore because he doesn't need it to help him be his old humble self anymore.

**Verse12:** Well I actually didn't care much for the last RK OVA that much either. I also don't believe that that was the way to end their story. I much prefer the original ending in the manga. But you gotta admit, the OVA was drawn so beautifully…

Come What May: A Sailor Moon/Rurouni Kenshin Crossover Fanfiction

DISCLAIMER: Characters do not belong to me; they belong to Takeuchi Naoko-sama and Nobuhiro Watsuki-sama (Aren't those two just wonderful).

I'm setting this story in the Sailor Moon anime continuity, one year after the Sailor Moon Sailor Stars Season. Usagi and the Inner Senshi are 17 year olds and Mamoru is 23 years old. There are references to events that happen in the Sailor Moon anime and I give notes on them at the end of the chapter if you are confused. For the Rurouni Kenshin part of the story, I am using the anime up till the "Kyoto arc" and then I switch to the manga for the "Revenge arc". Explanations of the RK events are also explained at the bottom. If you don't know much about Sailor Moon or Rurouni Kenshin, be prepared for some spoilage.

Chapter 11

By: Hime

* * *

"Some love lasts a lifetime. True love lasts forever."

-Unknown

* * *

Usagi sighed as she peeked at Ryu's house from around the corner. The sidewalk in front of his gates was crawling with cameramen and journalist of the newspaper and television variety. 'I should have known better. Of course, there would be the media camped outside his home. I can't get in to talk to him now. I should have yelled at him on the phone some more before I hung up on him. And I bet his phone's off the hook now.' Shaking her head, Usagi turned around and walked blindly ahead before bouncing off the solid chest in front of her.

"Ouch!" she cried out, immediately grasping her wounded knee to her chest.

"You should have watched where you were going." A low voice said above her.

Usagi gasped in both pain and surprise. 'Of all the nerve,' she fumed, 'he's blaming me!' Usagi raised her head in the rude man's general direction when something soft and white floated down onto her head. "What's this?" she asked, grabbing it and holding it for inspection.

"It's a handkerchief. For your knee." His voice was dry and a bit condescending.

Usagi immediately bristled at his tone of voice, but she used the white cloth to gently dab at the blood that stained her knee. After a few gentle swipes, the wound stopped bleeding and she crumpled the handkerchief into a ball as she carefully got to her feet. When she stood in front of him, Usagi finally had a good look at the man in front of her. He was probably a little taller then six feet, with a more muscular build then Mamo-chan or Ryu. He also had the most shockingly white hair, styled so it lay flat in the back but his bangs spiked up and out above his head. Usagi had no idea what color his eyes were, because he wore a pair of black wrap-around shades. With an apologetic smile, Usagi said, "Blood is so hard to remove from white cloth. If you tell me where you got your handkerchief I'll go and buy you a new one in thanks."

"I got that in Paris. It cost about 11700 yen."

Usagi stood still, shocked for a moment before she screamed, "Paris! Ohmigod, I ruined something that would have cost me six months of allowance!" Usagi held the now wrinkled piece of fine cotton into the air as she carefully examined it. "Maybe mama can get the blood out," she mused out loud, "I think I heard something about club soda on stains…" She was interrupted by the sound of the man's low rumble of laughter. It sounded rusty, as if he had not laughed in a long while.

"Don't worry about it. I have many more at home."

Usagi bit her lip softly as she thought this over before smiling brightly. "Here." She offered him a white handkerchief with pink lace edging. "You can have this one to hold you over until you get home."

The man stared at her in disbelief, though she couldn't be sure, considering the dark shades he wore. Finally he stated flatly, "I am not going to hold on to a girls handkerchief."

"Why not? It's a perfectly good handkerchief and you don't have one on you at the moment." Usagi tilted her head to one side in annoyance. Here she was, trying to do something nice and this guy wouldn't let her. Finally, with little patience, she shoved her "girly" handkerchief into his empty hands. "Just take it already."

He stared at the handkerchief and then at her flushed and annoyed face. Slowly, he raised his black shades onto his head, allowing Usagi to see his brilliant turquoise-blue eyes. Usagi was a bit unnerved to see the considering look in his eyes.

"Have we met before? You seem very familiar."

"Is that some sort of come-on? Cause if it is, I have to tell you I already have a boyfriend."

He gave her a look of disbelief. "You're a strange girl."

"Hey! I know that's not a compliment!" The man said nothing but just shook his head in helpless amusement as he turned and walked away. "I am not strange!" she shouted at his retreating back. Then she looked at the handkerchief in her hands and shouted at the man once more, "Thank you very much for the handkerchief!" With little grace, she shoved the expensive, bloodstained cloth within her pocket and hurried down the street back toward her own home.

* * *

Usagi gently closed the front door and turned around to face her mother. Usagi made a little "Sqwee" sound in her surprise. "Mama!"

Ikuko looked at her daughter with guarded eyes and said, "You have a message from Kohakume-san. He's been calling for you ever since you hung up on him. You can reach him at this number." She held out a scrap of paper turn from the newspaper they had been looking at earlier that day. On it held a cell phone number.

Usagi snatched it out of her mother's hand and hurried toward the stairs, intent on getting to her room so she could call Ryu in privacy, when she stopped and turned to her mother. "Thank you." She said softly before climbing the stair. She ran the last few steps to her room and grabbed for the phone she kept near her bed. Ryu answered the phone within 2 rings. "Usagi, is that you?"

"I want to see you."

"Alright." Usagi was surprised at his easy agreement. "Meet me at Rainbow Bridge in fifteen minutes."

"But the reporters-"

"Don't worry. Just be there." And then the dial tone sounded in her ear. Quickly, Usagi scrambled off her bed and grabbed for her jacket before running out of her run and down the stairs.

"I'm going out again. I'll be back later!" Slamming the door behind her, Usagi ran to the park as fast as she could. After reaching the bridge, she glanced at her watch to find out that she made it in less then the fifteen minutes Ryu had given her. 'What do you know, for once I'm early.' Panting heavily, she rested against the bridge's railing and tried to regain her breath. After a while, her heart stopped racing and she could take a full breath without her side stabbing in pain, she noticed a man sneaking up on her from out of the corner of her eye. He was wearing a dark gray fedora, pulled low over his eyes and a trench coat tied tightly around his waist. When he reached out toward her, Usagi jumped back in fright and screamed, "Get away from me you pervert!"

As the man sailed backward, his hat fell off revealing a thoroughly surprised Ryu. "Oro!" he cried as he fell.

"Ryu!" Usagi exclaimed in shock, before covering her mouth with both hands.

"Not so loud." He told her as he got up, brushing the dirt off his coat.

"I'm so sorry!" Usagi said as she tried to help Ryu brush himself off. Finally, his face bright, he caught her hands within his own. "It's alright, Usagi. I'm fine." They stood still like that for a moment before Usagi's face grew red as well. Pulling away, Usagi turned and headed for the same bench she sat on with Setsuna a week ago. 'Was it only just a week ago that I met him again?' Usagi thought to herself. Usagi could feel Ryu's eyes on her, so she turned toward him and asked, "Okay, so what's wrong?"

Ryu sighed before he answered, "Something dangerous might occur because of the bank robbery attempt. It would be better if you didn't associate with us for a time."

"And how long will that be?"

Usagi heard him sigh before he answered, "I'm not sure."

Looking him in the eyes, Usagi said, "I don't care if it's dangerous."

"Well I do," Ryu said firmly. "I won't have you getting hurt because of me."

"How do you know something will happen to me? Are you getting rid of Shinnosuke too?"

At his silence, Usagi knew that Ryu hadn't done that.

When Ryu spoke, his voice was low and filled with pain and regret. "If you become involved in this mess, something can happen and-"

"And people can die and people can get hurt and people can get kidnapped! Yes, I know! But I am not Tomoe-san and I am not Kaoru. I am Usagi!" Usagi could feel her eyes fill with tears and quickly scrubbed the few that leaked out with her hand.

"Yes, you are a different person; we both are. But things still remain the same. I still care for you very much and if something were to happen to you because of me, I don't know what I would do."

"Ryu, you can't control what happens. Life doesn't work that way; believe me. All you can do is have faith in people--have faith in the world--that in the end, things will work out for the best and we will all be happy." Usagi looked at Ryu hopefully, her eyes sincere with her beliefs. When Ryu stayed silent, Usagi then said, "Okay then, how about this. You can't really stop me from seeing Yaruki and Yuuki. Wouldn't it be better if you had some sort of control over the situation then just me hanging out with them randomly?"

"That's blackmail." Ryu said in disbelief. Usagi just smiled brightly at him. She knew he was mulling over what she had said as she heard a little humming noise coming from him. Looking out in front of him, Ryu finally said, "I agree that I can't truly stop you from seeing Yaruki and Yuuki without making all our lives more complicated. That's why I'm going to let you watch them after school like we originally planned. However" He looked at Usagi sternly, interrupting her gasp of happiness at getting her way, "Shinnosuke will be with you three always, and you must take them directly home and not leave until I get back. Either Shinnosuke or I will take you home afterwards."

"Yes." Usagi agreed easily.

"There will be more rules." Ryu warned her sternly. "And you have to agree that if later on I decide that this situation has become to much of a danger, you will not associate with us until I say it's alright." Usagi nodded, still smiling largely.

"Then, I guess you can pick-up the twins tomorrow as planned. Shinnosuke will meet you there."

Usagi got up happily, dancing from one foot to the other. Ryu also stood up, though his demeanor was much more serious. "Usagi," he said softly, "I'm going to try to have faith." She stopped moving, her body frozen at his words. She turned to look at him, her blue eyes wide as she took in his determined visage. "But please," he begged her with his eyes, with his words, as he cupped her face in his hands, "do your best to be careful. It took me three lifetimes to find you again. I want to spend the rest of this one getting to you know you once more."

They were both a bit red in the face by the time Ryu stopped speaking and when he started to let go of her face, Usagi held on to his hands and smiled, "I have faith that everything will be fine. But I will be careful because sometimes destiny needs a little help in making sure we all get our happy ending." She pulled his hands off her face and instead pulled him forward down the path as she walked backwards. Letting go, she spun around and said, "I have to go back home. Mama will wonder where I am."

"I'll walk you back." Ryu offered, but she just shook her head no. "You have to get back to Yaruki and Yuuki. I can get home by myself." Turning to look at him, Usagi saw him frown and gave him a mischievous smile. "Don't worry Ryu, Juuban has its protectors. I'll be safe." At his puzzled look, Usagi couldn't help but laugh. "The Sailor Senshi always shows up at the right time to right wrongs and triumph over evil." She laughed again at his expression.

"You believe in them? The Sailor Senshi, I mean." He added when she turned her head to look at him. Usagi spun completely around and began to walk backwards. "If there is anything I truly have faith in, it's the Sailor Senshi. That's why I know things will always be okay—the Sailor Senshi will protect everyone and make everything alright."

"Usagi…" Ryu began, his face alarmed.

"You don't believe in them?"

He reached out for her, "No, I mean…"

But Usagi cut him off with a sniff as she whirled around in a huff—and walked face first into a lamppost.

"Owww…" Usagi moaned in agony, clutching her nose.

Quickly, Ryu was at her side and tried to make her uncover her face. "Let me see…"

Tears were streaming down her face as she let his look at her upturned face in the lamplight.

"I don't think you broke it, you just smashed it really hard. There not even any blood." He smiled down at her, his lips twitching in suppressed laughter.

Usagi could feel her tears welling up and took in a deep breath, the better to wail with when Ryu bent down and kissed her lightly on her smarting nose. She blinked hard in surprise and felt her tears roll down her face. With a tender expression, Ryu thumbed her tears away and gave her a reassuring smile. "It doesn't hurt that bad now does it?" With an almost transfixed look on her face, Usagi slowly shook her head, her eyes never leaving his. She blinked again and felt the spell that Ryu had unwittingly spun around her start to fade and was surprised to realize that her nose actually didn't hurt that bad anymore. Her breath was shaky as she stepped away from him, her eyes falling to the ground almost shyly. She felt him step away from her, and almost shivered at the absence of his body heat. When she heard him laugh, her head came up swiftly. "What?" She asked him.

"I tho-thought that…" he trailed off, overcome with laughter. He tried to continue, "Th-that the S-sailor Se-senshi would protect you." He doubled over in laughter as she stared at him in disbelief.

Usagi wondered where that growling sound was coming from when she realized it was coming from her. "Stupid Ryu!" she shouted and began to walk quickly toward the park exit. Ryu quickly caught up to her, and matched his stride to hers.

"I told you I can walk home by myself." She informed him huffily.

"Yes," he said in mock seriousness, "because the Sailor Senshi will protect you from danger." Usagi growled again but didn't respond to his teasing. "But since they don't seem to protect you from menacing lamppost, I'll save you from them. Watch out, there's a lamppost right there!" He laughed again.

Ryu pointed out eleven more lampposts on the way home before Usagi finally yelled at him to shut up

* * *

Author's Notes:

Tentatively waves hello Hi everyone. I really don't know what to say except that I'm very sorry it took so long for this chapter to be released. I just had the hardest time getting this chapter out onto my screen. I do want to say that this story is fully outlined so I know what happens—even the ending is already set—I just have to actually write it, which I am finding hard to do. Hopefully, you guys will be seeing more postings from me this year…

Also, did you guys figure out whom Usagi was talking to at the beginning? With his introduction, things will be begin to move along, plot wise, which is great because now the action will truly start…

Hime  
3/11/05


	12. Chapter 12

Come What May--A Sailor Moon/Rurouni Kenshin Crossover Fanfiction 

DISCLAIMER: Characters do not belong to me; they belong to Takeuchi Naoko-sama and Nobuhiro Watsuki-sama (Aren't those two just wonderful).

I'm setting this story in the Sailor Moon anime continuity, one year after the Sailor Moon Sailor Stars Season. Usagi and the Inner Senshi are 17 year olds and Mamoru is 23 years old. There are references to events that happen in the Sailor Moon anime and I give notes on them at the end of the chapter if you are confused. For the Rurouni Kenshin part of the story, I am using the anime up till the "Kyoto arc" and then I switch to the manga for the "Revenge arc". Explanations of the RK events are also explained at the bottom. If you don't know much about Sailor Moon or Rurouni Kenshin, be prepared for some spoilage.

Chapter 12   
By: Hime

* * *

"Some love lasts a lifetime. True love lasts forever."  
-Unknown

* * *

"Wow Usagi, I can't believe you actually know someone as cool as Kohakume-san!" Minako exclaimed as the she, Usagi, Ami, and Makoto walked down the hallway.

"What's that suppose to mean?" Usagi scowled at the other blonde.

Minako opened her mouth but luckily Makoto broke in. "Minako-chan, don't you have to go to volleyball club right now?"

"What're you talking about? Volleyball club practice isn't on today."

"Oh, sorry then, my mistake."

"Hey, you guys, I'll see you all tomorrow then. Bye!" Usagi waved cheerfully at them and ran on ahead to the school gates where Ryu had told her to wait for Shinnosuke. To her surprise, she found him already waiting for her. 'I thought Ryu said that Shinnosuke never shows up on time?'

"Hi Shinnosuke!" Usagi chirped as she ran to his side. "Ryu told me that you'd be late but your earlier then I am." When he turned his back to her and began walking away without greeting her back, she frowned for a moment before running to catch up to him. "Sorry for making you wait for me." His reply was just a low grunt. Usagi was quiet for a few more minutes as she needed to conserve her breath as Shinnosuke walked faster and faster, his long legs striding forth, as if not to let her walk beside him, before she panted out to his back, "Are we that much in a rush to get to Keimei Elementary?"

Without pausing, Shinnosuke turned so she could look at his profile and replied, "If you can't keep up, maybe you should quit."

Shocked, Usagi stopped moving and watched in almost detached interest as Shinnosuke continued on before she regained her senses.

"Ow! Shit!" Shinnosuke clutched the back of his head in pain and whirled around to glare at the girl running to meet him. She bent down to pick up the shoe she had just thrown at his head and slipped it on before raising her head to glare right back at him.

"Are you mad at me or something?"

"Of course I am! You just threw your fucking shoe at my head!" He shouted in anger.

"Well I wouldn't have done that if you weren't trying to run away from me!" Undaunted, Usagi yelled right back.

"Running away? What the he—never mind." He turned away from her again but before he could actually start moving, she grabbed onto his jacket and dug in her heels.

"Why are you mad at me? I haven't done anything to you-"

"No, but you must have done something to Ryu."

Usagi gasped in shock. "What?"

Shinnosuke looked at her, his eyes hard and serious. "I talked to Ryu right after he came home from the bank robbery and was told that since it was dangerous, you wouldn't be looking after the twins after all. And then he calls me yesterday to tell me he's changed his mind. That's a bunch of crap. What the hell do you have over him to make him change his mind?"

Taken aback, Usagi gaped at him before trying to answer, "I don't have anything over him. Ryu…"

At this, Shinnosuke took a step forward, looming over Usagi's petite form. "And where the hell do you get off just calling him 'Ryu?' Who the hell are you? Who the hell are you to him?"

"I am his friend, that's all! And you call him Ryu so why can't I? Are you jealous or something?" Usagi glared up at Shinnosuke, unafraid of his towering over her. Her expression changed when she saw his eye twitch. "You are jealous!" she crowed in some delight. "Don't worry, I'm not going to steal your best-friend away from you." She gave him a happy pat on his arm, and giggled as she walked past him down the sidewalk.

"H-hey! I'm not jealous or nothing like that!" He easily caught up with her, and automatically adjusted his stride to hers.

"Sure…"

"No really! I'm not!"

"Heheheh…"

"Oh shut-up."

* * *

"Get out, get out, get out!" Yaruki screamed as Usagi hurriedly scuttled out of the bedroom that the boy shared with his brother. 

"I only wanted to-" She quickly pulled the door shut in time to escape the paperback that had been flying towards her head.

"And don't come in here again!" Yaruki yelled at her from behind the closed door.

"Fine then!" she yelled back in anger and frustration. Stomping down the hallway, she fumed silently. 'Stupid Yaruki.'

Shinnosuke and Yuuki were waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs. "Doesn't seem to like you, does he?" Shinnosuke asked with a smirk.

"I don't want to hear it from you." Usagi snapped at him and grabbed Yuuki's arm, pulling him into the kitchen, Shinnosuke following the two casually. Leaning against the wall, Shinnosuke watched as Usagi and Yuuki put on clean, white aprons and began taking out various ingredients from around the kitchen. "And what are you guys making anyway?"

"Pancakes." Usagi turned to Yuuki and said with a small grin, "Just to let you know, I'm not too good at cooking. I tend to burn things or if my food looks okay, it turns out to taste horrible. And when I actually do cook something that taste good, it doesn't really look that appetizing…" Usagi's head gradually lowered and lowered as she began talking about her various cooking mishaps when Yuuki patted her on the arm.

"That's all right, I know how to cook. Just follow my instructions and it'll be fine." Usagi face grew happier when she heard this and her smile caused Yuuki to develop just a hint of a blush. Shinnosuke began snickering to himself.

Clearing his throat, Yuuki said with some authority, "First we should measure out all the ingredients before we actually do anything. Turning he saw to his astonishment that Usagi had already dumped a huge amount of flour into the mixing bowl and was adding about four eggs to the amount.

"Umm Usagi-san, you have to-"

And it was at this point that Usagi turned on the hand blender.

* * *

"Wow, you're only ten and you already know you want to be a doctor. That's really something…" 

Ryu walked into his house to find the scent of something sweet in the air. Following the sound of voices, he entered the dining room where Usagi, Shinnosuke and the twins were sitting around the table, empty plates pushed away to the sides as Usagi and the twins had books opened in front of them.

"I'm home."

Startled, Usagi glanced up from her math workbook to see Ryu standing in the doorway, a smile on his face.

"Welcome back." She greeted him as he sat down across from her. "We made some pancakes and we still have leftovers. You should have some." Yuuki had already gotten up and headed into the kitchen to fetch his dad some of the pancakes.

Yaruki snorted, "What do you mean 'we made pancakes?' Yuuki's the one that really made them."

"Like you should talk! You didn't make them either. All you did was wash the dishes. And the walls." Shinnosuke gave a snort of his own.

"Well at least I did something. You just stood there and made comments."

"Hey, as the oldest one here, I was supervising the whole process."

"Supervising my ass…"

"Now, now, Yaruki-chan, you know you're not my type…"

"S-stupid! Shut-up!"

Yuuki held back his laughter, his shoulders quivering a little from the effort as he put the plate down in front of his father. His task done, he went back to his seat besides Usagi and subtly tried to look over her computations to make sure she was doing it correctly. Unfortunately, she caught his gaze and with a somewhat superior air she told him "Hey, I'm seven years older then you. I can do my own homework correctly."

"But…" Yuuki's voice trailed off at her expression before he spoke up again, "I think you were suppose to multiply those numbers first before you do the other side." He pointed the problem out to her with his finger.

Usagi glared at the problem before her and then with a sheepish grin, her right hand rubbing the back of her head, she admitted, "Yeah, I think you're right."

Yuuki and Shinnosuke exploded with laughter, their argument with each other forgotten as they found a new target.

"Hey, I'm seven years older then you. I can do my own homework correctly." Shinnosuke repeated in a high falsetto.

"But I guess age has nothing to do with how smart you are." Yaruki taunted with a huge grin on his face.

"Do you want me to hit you again?" Usagi asked, fuming at the young boy sitting diagonally from her.

Ryu smiled to himself and watched as Shinnosuke and Yaruki kept up their teasing until Usagi began to chase the two of them around the table. He couldn't help but reminisce about the familiarity of the scene around him. 'Just like then…' Just at that moment, on their next circuit around the table, Shinnosuke's elbow clipped the back of Ryu's head, and he went face first down into his plate. 'Yep, exactly like before.'

* * *

"Isn't it kind of lonely without Usagi-chan here?" Minako asked out loud at their study session about three weeks later. 

"Lonely?" Rei asked in disdain. "Hmph, it's more peaceful without her. We can actually get some work done."

"Oh come on," Minako flapped her hand at the dark-haired priestess. "You probably miss her more than anyone else."

"And why would that be." Rei asked, her voice sounding irritated.

"Because now you don't have anyone to yell at."

"Oh no, there's still someone here I can yell at…"

'Oh Minako,' Makoto shook her head in exasperation at her blonde friend. 'You have too learn to stop saying whatever comes to your head…'

"I wonder how's she's doing…" Ami said somewhat wistfully, causing three heads to turn towards her. "I hope she's completing her homework…" Ami sighed and then turned back to her English textbook.

Makoto caught herself, hands to the table to stop herself from falling over.

"See, even Ami-chan misses Usagi-chan. Kind of. I guess…" Minako said, breaking the silence. "She hardly ever hangs out with us anymore. We only see her on Saturdays when we study."

"Well she's a bit busy right now," Makoto shrugged. "I'm sure after the fun of having a job passes, we'll see her more."

"And why is Kohakume-san letting her watch his kids?" Rei yelled, glaring off to the side. Minako and Makoto both sat up straight in surprise, though Ami continued to look over her notes as if nothing had happened. "It just doesn't make any sense. Argh!"

"Um, are you okay?" Makoto asked concerned at how heavy Rei was breathing.

"I already told you that Kohakume-san was a nice man." Ami said plainly, looking up from her notebook. "There's no reason to be so suspicious of him."

"You only know what you're mom told you. It's not that you actually met him yourself." Rei tossed her hair behind her, and sniffed in dissatisfaction.

"Well then," Ami said somewhat icily, "if you don't trust what my mom says, why don't you go and talk to him instead of taking your frustrations out on us."

'Whoa,' Makoto shook her head at the dangerous turn the conversation just took, 'you don't say anything about Ami-chan's mom…' While normally sweet and somewhat self-effacing, Ami tended to get upset if she felt her mother had been slighted.

Rei flushed red. "I didn't mean that we couldn't trust your mother-"

"Well that's what it sounded like."

'Oh man, this was not sounding good.' Makoto winced.

Rei took in a deep breath before letting it go in a huge sigh. "Look, I'm sorry okay. I'm sorry."

Ami looked at Rei hard before she seemed to become aware of herself again. Blushing lightly, she said, "No, I overreacted. I'm sorry."

"No, no, don't say you're sorry."

"But-"

"No, Ami-chan, drop it. It's not your fault." Rei smiled before adding somewhat darkly, "If anything, it's Usagi's fault."

Everyone pretended not to hear her comment.

* * *

Ryu picked up the phone to hear Chagashi-san's voice on the other end. "I'm sorry to bother you, but there's someone here to see you." 

"I don't remember having any appointments this afternoon." Ryu frowned as he looked up his daily schedule on his computer.

"No, he didn't schedule an appointment, but he says that what he needs to see you about is very important."

This was the moment Ryu felt a deep foreboding. "Alright if it's so important, I'll meet with him. Did he give you his name?"

"Yes. Sek-Gong Akira-san."

Ryu drew in his breath sharply. "Send him in."

* * *

Author's Notes: 

Okay everyone, sorry for taking so long. Also, sorry about this (short and probably boring) filler chapter but I needed to establish a sense of time passing so this chapter needed to be written. The next chapter should have a lot more action and plot, so stay tuned for that. In fact, I think the story's pace will really start to pick up after the next chapter so "yay!" On another note, I've noticed that my writing style has really changed since I began writing this and so if the chapter sounds weird please let me know. Now days, I write a lot of oneshots and drabbles, so writing longer prose felt a little weird to me. Also, I am still looking for a beta reader; so if anyone is interested, please contact me.

Hime  
2/1/06


	13. Chapter 13

This chapter is dedicated to **Darkest Melody** who gifted me with some CWM inspired fanwork. I feel so loved… The links to it is on my profile.

Come What May--A Sailor Moon/Rurouni Kenshin Crossover Fanfiction

DISCLAIMER: Characters do not belong to me; they belong to Takeuchi Naoko-sama and Nobuhiro Watsuki-sama (Aren't those two just wonderful).

I'm setting this story in the Sailor Moon anime continuity, one year after the Sailor Moon Sailor Stars Season. Usagi and the Inner Senshi are 17 year olds and Mamoru is 23 years old. There are references to events that happen in the Sailor Moon anime and I give notes on them at the end of the chapter if you are confused. For the Rurouni Kenshin part of the story, I am using the anime up till the "Kyoto arc" and then I switch to the manga for the "Revenge arc". Explanations of the RK events are also explained at the bottom. If you don't know much about Sailor Moon or Rurouni Kenshin, be prepared for some spoilage.

Chapter 12  
By: Hime

* * *

"Some love lasts a lifetime. True love lasts forever."  
-Unknown

* * *

The door opened with Ryu's secretary leading a man a few inches taller then six feet, though the way he held himself made him appear larger then he actually was. Even without speaking, the force of his will made Ryu's nerves hum with anticipation of a fight. The man was dressed in a black, well-cut suit that showed off a lean body, but Ryu would bet his life that underneath it was impressively honed muscle. The man's hair was a shocking white, spiked up in the front, very reminiscent of Shinnosuke, but in the back, laid flat, fine strands curving over the back of his skull. Dark glasses hid his gaze, but he took them off to reveal flat turquoise colored eyes that took Ryu in an instant before he glanced around the tidy office. Behind the man, Chiguchi-san opened her mouth to offer refreshments but Ryu caught her eyes and gave the slightest shake of his head. Her eyes widen in surprise but she kept her silence and gave a short bow before closing the door, giving the two men some privacy. Silence filled the room after the door was shut. Ryu had his office sound proofed, the better to keep client confidentiality. He let the man look his fill as he struggled to not let his growing trepidation show. What the hell was going on? While this man might be named Sek Gong Akira now, Ryu knew him better as Yukishiro Enishi.

* * *

When Kohakume Ryu stood up to greet him, Akira held back on his frown. The man before him was short and so unassuming. How the hell did he defeat his own men? But when their eyes met, he was surprised at the flat stare that greeted him. He felt his fingers curve slightly as if about to form fists to defend himself when he made the conscious effort to relax them. He detected that the left corner of Kohakume's mouth twitched briefly. Did this man notice what just happened and was amused by it? He could feel his temper start to rise so Akira drew in a slow, long breath and held it for a count of three before breathing out. Forcing down his irritation, he smiled coolly and held his hand out for a handshake. Coming from Hong Kong, greeting others like westerners was common, but in Japan, unless accustomed to it, completely threw off most Japanese. Without skipping a beat, Kohakume clasp his outstretched hand firmly and gave it a quick pump before letting it go, gesturing toward the visitor's chair.

"Gek Song-san, please sit down."

For a moment, Akira was tempted to stay standing but what would he gain by doing that? Calmly he took his seat and watched the red-haired man before him sit down as well behind his desk.

"So what can I do for you?" Kohakume asked, though it didn't sound like a question.

Akira smiled. "You have a lovely office. You must be doing well?" Akira knew exactly how much the law practice made and even knew how much the man before him was worth. He tilted his head, thinking. 'Shall I just threaten him or have him killed?'

"As well as anyone can expect."

'Very smooth this Japanese lawyer.' He mused. But what kind of lawyer had eyes and composure as he did? Because for sure, Akira was certain that this man somehow knew who he was or at least what he was connected to. And how did this man manage to defeat his underlings? Although those three fools were at the very bottom of the hierarchy, they were still part of the White Tiger organization.

"Yes, good publicity never hurts anyone does it? Have the reporters left your home yet or are they still buzzing around, trying to catch a glimpse of you and your children?" Akira saw him stiffen slightly. 'I guess threats will work. Pity.' Even if everything worked out like they were suppose to, maybe he would kill this man just for the hell of it. "I don't blame the press. Pictures of adorable children always help the papers sell. Though I guess they do have some scruples since they don't go and bother them at Keimei Elementary, now do they?" Akira was really starting to enjoy himself. Even though most of the time he found doing the clean up work tedious and beneath him, this was actually turning out to be enjoyable.

"Stay away from my family."

Akira pulled out a picture from his jacket's inner pocket and tossed it onto the desk in front of him. It showed this man's two children and a young man sitting around a dining room table. In the background, the shape of another person was visible, though no identifying features could be seen. "And such a lovely family it is. You have a habit of picking up strays don't you? You also have a habit of doing things that may get you and your family targeted. Haven't you heard that bad habits can get you and those around you killed?"

Kohakume stared at the photo in front of him for a moment but made no move to touch it. Finally he lifted his head and asked Akira, "What exactly do you want?"

"What does any man truly want from this world?' Akira replied drolly, settling back within the confines of his chair. He smiled at the man in front of him coolly, really nothing more then the corners of his lips turning upwards. He had no need to show his fangs—his prey already knew he had them.

"To be left in peace."

"Well too bad for you. You shouldn't have involved yourself into something that didn't concern you."

"If I didn't, someone might have died."

"Well now perhaps one of your children will die instead." Akira smirked as he saw how tightly the man before him clenched his fist. "Well on that note, I should be going. It was pleasant to meet you." Getting up slowly, he faced Kohakume and inclined his head to him in a mocking bow.

Turning around with no signs of concern, Akira headed for the door only to be stopped by Kohakume's lowered voice. "Last time, I held no animosity for you, but rather understanding. However, this time, if you touch someone precious to me, I will fight you with everything at my disposal."

Akira stilled while his mind raced. '"Last time?" What the hell is he talking about?' Without a word, Akira opened the door and walked out, letting it shut behind him. With a casual smile, he nodded his head at Kohakume's secretary and left the outer office.

Making his way to the bank of elevators, Akira waited in impatient silence 'I just want to get out of this place already.' When the doors opened to him, he stepped inside with and pushed the button for the ground floor. As the door began to close, a young boy ran across his field of vision, laughing backwards at whoever was behind him.

"C'mon! Father's office is right down the hall."

Akira's face split with a chilling smile. 'Perfect.'

* * *

"What are you two doing here?" Though he didn't frown and his voice was steady, Usagi knew Ryu was not happy at all to see the two of them standing there in front of him.

Even Yuuki could sense that his father was upset. "I, I just wanted to show Usagi-san your office…" he bit his lip as he trailed off.

Ryu sighed as he looked down at his son before he ran his hand through his hair. He smiled ruefully at his son causing Yuuki to smile back grateful that his dad didn't seem angry anymore. "Where are the other two?" The unasked question 'And why aren't they here with you?' was left hanging in the air between them.

"Oh, Yuuki wanted to show me where your office was but Yaruki," Usagi bit back a sigh of her own as she thought of how Yaruki had made a scene when his brother had suggested the outing. "Yaruki decided to go home instead. Shinnosuke took him back."

"Hmm…"

"Um, it's a very nice office." Usagi said brightly, trying to fill the uncomfortable silence. "Your secretary was very nice and showed us in."

"Yes, Chagashi-san is very nice. Yaruki, please ask Chagashi-san for some refreshments for you and Usagi-san."

With a hesitant glace at Usagi from the corner of his eye, Yuuki went to do his dad's bidding, leaving Ryu and Usagi alone.

When the door shut behind Yuuki, Ryu stepped forward and grasped Usagi's arms, eyes intent and voice low he asked, "Did you meet a man wearing a black suit before coming to the office?"

Surprised and a bit wary, Usagi shook her head slowly. "No, we didn't see anyone in the building." To her surprise, Ryu let out a huge sigh and pulled her to him in a quick move, enveloping her within his arms. She could feel fine tremors going through him and unconsciously, hugged him back just as tight. Just as quickly, Ryu released her and Usagi would have fallen if not for Ryu's secure grasp on her arm.

"After we have our refreshments, I will see the two of you home." He told her and Usagi could do nothing but nod and let herself be led to a chair in front of his desk. With perfect timing, Chagashi-san and Yuuki enterered with a tray that held three teacups and a plate of cookies. Ryu smiled again, his face pleasant and ruffled his son's hair in affection as Yuuki passed the cup and saucer to Usagi and to his father. If it weren't for the fact that Usagi's ribs still ached, she could have never imagined the almost terrified relief Ryu's embrace had shown her.

What the hell had just happened to rattle Ryu like this?

* * *

"Wait a minute, Ryu!" Chagashi-san's voice rang out as Yaruki, Usagi and Ryu walked out of his inner office. Pressing a button on her phone, she gestured toward Ryu with the receiver. "It's Matsumoto-san. She needs to talk to you about tomorrows court case." At his expression, she added, "She says it's important."

Usagi looked up at Ryu and saw his face twist into a frown. "Take the call, we'll head on to the car and wait there for you."

Ryu dug his hand into his pocket, pulling out his car keys and handed it to Usagi. "Here. Wait for me in the car and lock all the doors."

Smiling and nodding, she said her good byes to Ryu's secretary before heading out of the office with Yaruki at her side. As they walked out of the office and down the hall to wait in front of the elevators, Usagi asked, "So what kind of car does your father drive?"

"Um, it's a Toyota Celsior."

"Really? Is it a good car?" Usagi had no real knowledge of cars only that it took her where she needed to go and that Mamo-chan's car was red and went really fast.

"It's comfortable." Yaruki shrugged as the elevator opened up to admit the two. The conversation about cars now over, Usagi began questioning Yaruki on his kendo lessons. "So how's Mamo-chan—no I mean, Chiba-sensei as an instructor."

"Chiba-sensei? You know him?"

"Oh, you mean Yaruki didn't tell you? He's my boyfriend." Usagi grinned down wildly at Yuuki's surprised, upturned face. After a moment, he hung his head slightly, breaking eye contact with her.

"Oh, so you already have a boyfriend."

Cocking her head to the side, she considered the boy beside her. "What's wrong?"

Quickly he looked up to flash her an innocent grin. "Nothing's wrong. C'mon, let's go." As the doors of the elevator opened, he quickly pulled her forward toward the exit.

Laughing a little, she purposely dragged her heels, making the younger boy struggle to pull her to the glass doors.

Outside, she smiled in the warm sunlight and Yuuki joined her as they walked down the line of cars, pressing the car door remote every few steps. From a distance, Usagi heard the distinct chirping of the car unlocking its doors.

"It's somewhere over there." She pointed out and together the two headed for the car. "Um, hit the button again. Uh…yes! Right over there! First one to the car gets to ride shotgun!" Usagi called out to Yuuki and both started to sprint toward the black, four-door sedan.

"I'm winning! I'm winn-" Laughing, she turned her head to the boy behind her and--

--The world exploded in front of them.

* * *

Side Notes:

"**Last time, I held no animosity for you, but rather understanding."**: This is reference to the Revenge arc in the RuroKen manga.

**Toyota Celsior: **Japanese name for the Lexus UF20 IV LS 400.

Sek-Gong Akira (Enishi): I had the direct translation to his name in my notes and guess what? I misplaced them. From what I remember, Sek Gong is Chinese for "white stone" or "hard stone," something like that. And Akira is Japanese for "light/shining." Akira is also the name of Tomoe's fiancée who was killed by Kenshin in the first OAV and was told about in the Revenge arc of the manga. Think about what that means…

Author's Notes:

Wow, I actually updated before the year was over. Go me…

So I started Grad school this semester. I'm studying to be a Librarian, 'yo. Hopefully, I will actually finish this story before I graduate…I don't know, I guess we'll see.

Hime  
10/12/06


	14. Chapter 14

It was an extremely momentary thought—being caught in the force of an explosion wasn't all that different from transforming

Come What May--A Sailor Moon/Rurouni Kenshin Crossover Fanfiction

DISCLAIMER: Characters do not belong to me; they belong to Takeuchi Naoko-sama and Nobuhiro Watsuki-sama (Aren't those two just wonderful).

I'm setting this story in the Sailor Moon anime continuity, one year after the Sailor Moon Sailor Stars Season. Usagi and the Inner Senshi are 17 year olds and Mamoru is 23 years old. There are references to events that happen in the Sailor Moon anime and I give notes on them at the end of the chapter if you are confused. For the Rurouni Kenshin part of the story, I am using the anime up till the "Kyoto arc" and then I switch to the manga for the "Revenge arc". Explanations of the RK events are also explained at the bottom. If you don't know much about Sailor Moon or Rurouni Kenshin, be prepared for some spoilage.

Chapter 14

By: Hime

* * *

"Some love lasts a lifetime. True love lasts forever."

-Unknown

* * *

Note: Sentences bracketed by these symbols, / / , are to be read as if spoken in Cantonese.

* * *

It was an extremely momentary thought: being caught in the force of an explosion wasn't all that different from transforming. When Usagi transformed into Sailormoon, it all happened in a flash of lights and ribbons, or feathers. One moment she was just another teenage girl and the next, she was a sailor-suited warrior of justice.

Being caught in an explosion was sort of like that. One moment, she's racing toward a parked car, the next, she's flying backward through the air, pushed by waves of heat and force, and landing on the ground, desperately gasping for air as pieces of miscellaneous debris rained down around her.

Sucking up air through her open mouth, Usagi shut her eyes as she tried to reason out what just happened to her. 'Okay, I was running towards Ryu's car with Yuuki-'

"Yuuki!" She scrambled up onto her hands and knees, coughing as her throat and lungs seized up, still affected by the damage the explosion had caused them. A weak moan coming from behind her had her skinning her knees as she turned sharply around.

"Yuuki!" Usagi screamed again at the sight she saw. A huge piece of metal was standing straight up into the air, piercing his right forearm. Blood was pooling around him as he lay there. As Usagi dropped to her already abused knees, her hands hovered over the jagged piece of metal. Her first instinct was to rip it out, but wasn't that against the rules of first aid? Would pulling it the metal cause more damage and bleeding? And without thought, her hand clutched at her chest where for the past few years a metal locket would hang there. 'The crystal.'

"Hang on Yuuki, I'll fix you right up." Usagi whispered to his still form. He didn't seem awake and she prayed he would stay that way for the moment. Closing her eyes, she clasped both hands together, over he heart and concentrated on the power that slept within her. She was surprised to find a warmth already pulsing with a gentle heat. With a dawning realization, she thought, 'The crystal protected me from the blast!' That was why though she was dirty and bruised; she didn't have a single serious injury on her. She also realized that because she had been in front of Yuuki at the time of the explosion, she had protected him from the brunt of the damage as well.

'Thank you Silver Crystal, but please one more thing.' Usagi couldn't help but send her thoughts to the glowing warmth inside of her. As if responding, it pulsed brighter and grew warmer inside. 'Please, please,' she chanted and willed for that glowing warmth to come out. Upon opening her eyes, she saw that she and the area around her were bathed in a soft, warm glow. Her eyes watered in relief but she also noted with some alarm that the crystal was not glowing as bright as it had before. Perhaps it still hadn't fully recovered from the fight with Galaxia that had only occurred a year ago. Plus, it had just saved her life a few minutes ago, did it have enough power to save Yuuki's arm? Well, if it did or didn't, she would find out now. Whatever she needed to do needed to be done now and fast, before a crowd came and an ambulance was called.

With a slightly shaking hand, Usagi reached out toward the obscene piece of metal and pulled it out of the ground, out of Yuuki's arm and threw it away from the both of them. Already, a fresh stream of blood oozed out and joined the already formed pool under his arm.

Usagi held her cupped hands above his arm, letting the mystical light bathe over his seeping wound.

"Please," she whispered, her throat aching with soot and unshed tears, "please heal him." The crystal gave a weak flash of light and the heat it gave off warmed the air around them. The crystal began to fully glow, brighter and brighter, and the heat started to build and –

Usagi fell face first upon Yuuki's prone body, just as the first people came out of hiding back onto the streets.

* * *

A pair of binoculars clattered to the ground as nerveless fingers shook in surprise and fear.

/What is she? What did she do?/

At the other man's fearful question, Akira calmly pulled out his gun and smoothly screwed on a silencer. Without a word, he brought it up to the other man's temple and shot him with a single jerk of the trigger. When the man's body fell over, limp and bleeding, Akira wrapped the dead man's hand around the handle of the gun and with his help, had him fire a shot into the ground before unscrewing the silencer and slipping it into his coat's pocket. Faking a suicide wouldn't hold up with more intensive police work, but it would slow down an investigation enough to cover his own tracks completely.

Quickly, he made his way from the rooftop and took the staircase down all the way to the ground floor. Nonchalantly, he mixed with the people in the lobby and exited the building. On the street, he called for his car and waited with a slight impatience for it to arrive. Once it parked in front of him and he had settled back into a seat of buttery black leather, he took out a sweet, white handkerchief with pink lace. He had wondered why he had kept it even after he had replaced the one he had given away and now he knew why. Looking down at the lower right-hand corner of the white cotton square, he quickly punched in a sequence of numbers. When a quiet voice answered the phone, tracing the pink embroidery, Akira said without greeting, "Get me all the information you can get on a Tsukino Usagi of Tokyo, Japan."

* * *

Ryu was still on the phone when Chigarashi-san entered his office without knocking. At her expression, he calmly spoke into the receiver, "Please excuse me Matsumoto-san for a quick moment." Putting his call on hold, he raised an inquisitive eyebrow at his secretary.

"Security just called to say that a car just blew up in our parking lot."

The telephone receiver dropped onto his desk. Without saying anything to the person on the other side, he replaced the receiver back onto its holder, and got up from his chair and around his desk to stand in front of his secretary.

"Security has already called for an ambulance and the police." Chigarashi stated calmly.

"I have to find Yuuki and Usagi. Close up the office and you can leave as well." Ryu said over his shoulder as he rushed through the office.

"Everyone please calm down. Per policy, we are not letting anyone enter or exit the building until we get cleared by the police." One of three security guards said to the crowd in front of him. The other two tried to look intimidating as they stood in front of the locked glass doors. As those around them began to shout questions and statements at the guards, Ryu backed away and went around the corner to an open office. Luckily, it was empty. The occupant was probably somewhere in the crowd out there. Making his way to the window, he opened and took off the screen. Levering himself up to the sill, he carefully let himself down and out before pulling the window shut after him. Sneaking around the corner, he made sure to stick to the side of the building before joining a group of milling people. The police and ambulance were nowhere in sight though you could hear the sirens from far off. The air was still slightly smoky and there was an odd taste in the back of his mouth.

"Yuuki!" he called out into the crowd. "Usagi!" He paused and waited for a reply. People around him looked at him funny, but he ignored them as he kept calling out. As he made his way closer to the burning remains of cars, he could feel his mouth go dry as he realized that that had been where he had parked his own car that morning. With growing panic, he pushed his way thorough the crowd until he made his way to a circle of onlookers, there in the center were Yuuki and Usagi.

"Yuuki! Usagi!" He pushed his way to them, and went down on one knee beside them. He knew enough not to touch them, but it was so hard not to grab those prone figures and shake them awake. His hands hovered anxiously above them. "Does anyone know what happened to them?"

It was at this point that Yuuki began to stir.

"Ohhhh," he moaned. His eyelids fluttered open and when Ryu peered into them, they were glassy and unfocused.

"Yuuki." Ryu said calmly, trying to get his son to focus on him. Yuuki blinked a few times and then wet his lips. "Dad? What happened? Why do I feel so heavy?"

"There was an explosion and it looks like Usagi-san was trying to shield you."

Shocked, Yuuki sat upright and in the process, dislodged Usagi's slack body off of his chest. She would have fallen to the ground if Ryu had not caught her in time.

"Usagi!" Yuuki shouted anxiously. "Is she alright?" He peered down at the girl in his father's arm.

"Yuuki…" at his father's horrified whisper, he followed his father's gaze down to this bloody arm. Immediately he grasped it, trying to stem the flow of blood only to find out there was no wound. Confused, he rubbed his arm up and down, spreading the sticky blood but finding no cute or laceration. "Where's this blood coming from?" he asked in bewilderment. "Is Usagi-san injured?" he asked his father, reaching out toward the girl in question when suddenly his eyelids fluttered and he slumped forward in a faint. Ryu hurriedly reached out with his free hand, but Yuuki didn't fall anymore forward, just stayed slumped in a sitting position.

"Please move out of the way for the paramedics. We need people to clear the area."

Startled, Ryu looked around and saw the circle of people starting to disperse, allowing him to see a group of police officers in the area. He had been so concerned with Yuuki and Usagi he hadn't even heard the sirens of the police vehicles.

"Sir, please let go of the girl." A voice called out to him. He looked up to see a paramedic securing a stretcher beside him.

"Of course." He said shakily and gently laid Usagi down, paying close attention to her head. Immediately two paramedics, one at her head, the other at her feet, bent down and lifted her to the stretcher before securing her there. Ryu looked around to see his son getting the same attention. The paramedic who first spoke to him addressed him again.

"Who are you in relation to-"

"I'm the boy's father."

"And the girl?"

"She's…a friend of the family."

"I see. We'll be going to the Juuban Hospital. Are you riding with your son or will-"

"No! I'll ride with my son."

"Alright then. Please get in and fasten your seatbelt."

With haste, Ryu climbed into the ambulance and watched as one of the attending paramedics took reading of his son's vital stats before calling out to his partner in the front seat that they can go.

In silence, Ryu stared at his son with worried eyes, his hands clasped together on his lap. 'Please,' he prayed, 'please.' But to whom, he had no idea.

* * *

When they arrived at the hospital, the paramedics seemed a bit unsure of what to do. During the drive back, the paramedic taking Yuuki's vital signs also checked him over but could find nothing wrong. In fact, he had mentioned to Ryu that all that seemed wrong with Yuuki were an assortment of bruises and scrapes and the only reason that the boy laid unconscious was that he seemed to be extraordinarily tired. So should they admit him to the emergency room when there seemed to be nothing wrong with him or take him to a room and let him rest even though he may have been involved with a car explosion?

"Why don't we take him to a room and let one of the doctor's look him over, since he doesn't seem to be an emergency case." A voice called out behind them. All three turned to see a strikingly beautiful woman in a white doctor's coat looking at the boy lying on the gurney.

"Yes, Mizuno-sensei!" The two paramedics stood straight in attention and wheeled the gurney towards the admittance desk.

"Would you like me to look your son over, Ryu-san?"

"Yes, please." Ryu grabbed onto the doctor's hands in gratitude. "Oh, there should be another girl coming in as well-"

"If you are talking about Usagi-san, I have already set her up in a room and have already had someone look her over. I've also called her home to let her mother know that she's here."

"While you check out my son, may I go and see how Usagi-san is doing?"

"Hmm, alright. She's in room 630. Let me check and see what room they put your son in." Ryu watched in tense anticipation as Mizuno-sensei left to talk to the nurses at the desk. She soon came back and said, "He's in the room down the hall from Usagi-chan. Room 624."

Ryu thanked her, which Mizuno-sensei promptly waved off as they headed down the hall and onto the elevator. Getting off on the sixth floor, they walked together until they reached room 624. Mizuno-sensei tilted her head to the side and considered the man in front of her before she smiled and said, "Hayashi-san should be in Usagi-san's room right now. You can ask her for more information."

Once more Ryu bowed in thanks and then went down the hall a few doors to reach room 630. Taking a deep breath, he pushed the door open, sticking his head in the room to see Yanagi-san drawing the covers up to Usagi's chest, the girl still sleeping peacefully.

"Ryu-san, I'm just waiting for the x-rays to be developed before I can say anything conclusive."

"Still…"

Yanagi sighed, looking away from the man in front of her, staring with focused eyes on the girl in question. "As far as I can tell, she's fine, just exhausted. There are a few minor cuts and some bruising, but considering what happened today, she's strangely uninjured. That's why we did an emergency x-ray to check for internal bleeding." Yanagi paused here, taking a deep breath before finally looking Ryu in the eyes.

"Ryu-san, why are you here instead of with your son?"

* * *

Side Note:

"**When Usagi transformed into Sailormoon"**: Nope, not a typo—In Japan, Usagi's hero name is pronounced and written as one word, rather then two separate ones.

"**Looking down at the lower right-hand corner of the white cotton square"**: In the manga, it shows that on Usagi's handkerchief, her name is embroidered on it.

Author's Notes:

Yes, yes I suck, I know. It's been forever since I updated and truly this is really not everything I wanted to include within the chapter but I felt so guilty that I hadn't posted in over a year that I had to publish something for you guys. So now we are finally getting to the action part of the story. Okay, from here on, the story should be flowing a bit more faster, things will be happening and there will be some events that may surprise you…or not. I guess we'll just have to see…

Hime  
3/26/08


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